


sweet dreaming now, my little piece(s) of love

by VeryImportantDemon



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angus McDonald is Too Good For This World Too Pure, Angus McDonald is a Good Big Brother, Angus McDonald is a Good Boy, Angus McDonald is the Best Wizard Boy, Crying Angus McDonald, Dealing With Trauma, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Found Family, Garyl - Freeform, Gen, Good Kid Angus McDonald, Kravitz and Angus McDonald and Taako Live Together, Kravitz and Taako Adopt Angus McDonald, Kravitz and Taako are Angus McDonald's Parents, Kravitz is a dad, Lup is the best sister, M/M, Parenthood, Post-The Hunger, TAZ said queer rights, Taako Adopts Angus McDonald, Taako Loves Angus McDonald, Taako Would Die For Angus, Trans Taako (The Adventure Zone), anxious angus mcdonald, dealing with FEELINGS, taako is a dad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:02:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24184816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeryImportantDemon/pseuds/VeryImportantDemon
Summary: Things had been going great for Taako since the Day of Story and Song. He had a sweet, gigantic house he shared with his undead boyfriend, their cats, his son Angus McDonald, and his sister and her husband. He had all of his family back and everyone was safe. It was a great life, a charmed life, and just as Taako was finally getting settled and convincing himself it was all real, everything changed again.
Relationships: Angus McDonald & Taako, Barry Bluejeans/Lup, Carey Fangbattle/Killian, Istus/The Raven Queen (The Adventure Zone), Kravitz & Angus McDonald & Taako, Kravitz & The Raven Queen, Kravitz/Taako (The Adventure Zone), Lup & Taako (The Adventure Zone), The Raven Queen & Taako (The Adventure Zone), Tres Horney Boys - Relationship
Comments: 41
Kudos: 108





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I just really wanted to see this fic so I wrote it? Good luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a rude awakening, a wedding, and a problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m aware that elves mediate instead of sleep but Taako seems like the kind of guy who meditates in a bed and aligns his meditation schedule with the people around him who do need to sleep. Kravitz refers to it as ‘sleep’ because from someone else’s perspective, it looks a lot like sleeping.

Taako woke up to someone staring at him. Luckily, that person happened to be his boyfriend. “What are you doing?” he asked. 

Kravitz, who was hugging a pillow with his dreadlocks askew, shrugged slightly. He was a very put-together, fancy kind of guy. Dressing down meant untucking his button-down shirt. When they were in Taako’s gigantic fantasy-California King bed was the only time Taako really got to see him a little disheveled. It was a good look that definitely got Taako going. He couldn’t lie about that one. “Nothing,” he said. “I just like watching you sleep.”

Taako let out a burst of laughter. “Fuckin’ pervert,” he said but he was grinning anyway, something Taako was not known to do in the moments after he’d woken up. 

Pouting, Kravitz reached forward and tucked a lock of hair behind Taako’s pointed ear. “I just like looking at you,” he protested. “You’re pretty when you’re peaceful.”

Taako huffed, shuffling on the bed to press his back against Kravtiz’s chest. The reaper draped one arm over the elf, tucking Taako’s head under his chin. “Are you insinuating that I’m not pretty normally?” he protested. 

“Of course you are, babe,” Kravitz said, kissing the back of Taako’s head. “But you move so fast sometimes. I just like looking at you. I still can’t believe I get to date you.”

“You better believe it, hot stuff,” Taako said, “because you’re not getting rid of me any time soon.” 

“I’d hope not,” Kravitz said, his voice close to Taako’s ear and his fingers gently fiddling with a lock of hair. “I love you.”

“Love you, too,” Taako said. His eyes closed again and he was snuggling up to Kravitz when he realized what had just happened. He’d said  _ I love you. _ It had happened before, of course. He loved his boyfriend. But being vocal about his affections was not something he was known to do. The only other person he’d ever submitted himself to the mortifying ordeal of his affections being known to was his sister. But with Kravitz… It was so  _ easy.  _ Gods, it was so easy. He didn’t agonize about his words, try to dance around it and say he cared without using the Big L Word. He just… Said it. He just loved Kravitz. And frankly, that was kind of fucking awesome. He didn’t have to be  _ afraid  _ to love him. He just did.

He felt Kravitz shift behind him, pressing a kiss to the back of his head again, and then his boyfriend softly started to sing. “ _ Come attrition. Come the reek of bones. Come attrition. Come hell.”  _

Taako frowned slightly, opening his eyes. He really liked hearing Kravitz sing even though it wasn’t something he did often and definitely not in public. He was almost shy about it and seeing him blush was adorable. But he cherished the moments when Kravitz wasn’t shy about it. Moments when they were sitting alone in the house, Angus already in bed, Kravitz braiding Taako’s hair as the elf leaned against him and singing quietly. “This one’s new,” he said. 

“It’s from back when I was a kid,” Kravitz said. “My mother taught it to me.” He took in another soft breath that he didn’t really need before he started singing again. “ _ This is why. Why we fight, why we lie awake. And this is why. This is why we fight. _ ” He pulled Taako a little closer, his breath making the hairs on the back of Taako’s neck stand up a little. This was something intimate that Taako had never felt before Kravitz. “ _ When we die we will die with our arms unbound. And this is why. This is why, why we fight come hell _ .”

Silence hung in the room with them, thick but not heavy, when Kravitz was finished. Maybe Taako had goosebumps, maybe he didn’t. He wiggled out of Kravitz’s embrace to flip around and face him. “Kravitz,” he said. “Kravitz,  _ babe.  _ That is some hot shit.”

“Thanks,” Kravitz said, laughing softly. “I don’t really… Sing much. Especially not at work. The Grim Reaper slowly marching toward you and wielding a scythe is not the type of silhouette that will convince someone to come with you quietly.”

“Not to mention the accent,” Taako added. “I can’t take you seriously when you’re using your dumb work accent.” 

Kravitz pouted, resting his forehead against Taako’s. “I thought you liked my work accent.”

“Hate to break it to you, but it’s dumb as shit,” Taako said knowledgably.

“That must be why the Raven Queen laughs every time she hears me use it,” Kravitz mused. 

Taako grinned. “That’s totally why,” he said. “I love and support you, but it sucks.” 

“Duly noted,” Kravitz said. “I’ll take that into consideration.” He blinked, smiling at his boyfriend. He opened his mouth to say something else when the bedroom door banged open dramatically. 

“ _ GET DECENT ‘CAUSE LUP IS HERE _ ,” Lup shouted, pouncing onto the end of the bed. Kravitz sprang backwards from Taako, startled, and fell off the bed tangled in the comforter, smacking his head against the nightstand. Taako, even though he was fully clothed in a soft, silk robe cinched around his waist, snatched the sheet and yanked it under his chin.

“Lup,  _ what the fuck, _ ” Taako said, trying to calm his racing heartbeat. “Why? Why would you do that? Fuck you, I’m an only child now.”    
  


“Rejected,” Lup said. “You’re my baby brother and I love you.” She flung herself down next to him where Kravitz had been moments before.

“Baby brother,” Taako repeated, his lip curling slightly. “Lup, I am exactly 7 minutes younger than you. I’m not  _ baby _ anything.”

“Still makes you my baby brother,” she said in a sing-song voice. She peeked over the side of the bed to the ground when Kravitz was sprawled out. The suddenness of the attack and then hitting his head had startled him into his skull form. “What’re you doing down there, broseph?” she asked. 

“You did this to me,” he said. Kravitz sat up, sighing, and shook his head. The motion seemed to trigger his corporeal form which instantly spread across the white expanse of bone. In a moment, Lup was looking at a dark-skinned man with long dreadlocks. 

“Taako,” Lup said thoughtfully, still looking over the side of the bed, “do you ever think about how both of our relationships are technically necrophilia?”

Taako thumped his sister on the back of the head with one hand and, laughing, she fell back next time. “But do you though?” she asked as Taako got comfortable again, his head on her chest. 

“Too much,” he said. “But that’s not important a-tee-em. What is important is why in the name of Pan you thought that was a good thing to do.”

“It’s wedding day and you’ve got a house full of people, little bro,” Lup said. “We gotta make breakfast.” 

“Oh, fuck,” he groaned. “Can’t we… Can’t they just make their own? This is more people than was on the Starblaster.”

Lup patted Taako’s cheek. “Do you really want Merle Highchurch in your kitchen?”

Taako paused, thinking long and hard about the prospect. “Absolutely not,” he said. “Not a chance. Not even for a second.” He sighed deeply as he studied the ceiling. “Why did I agree to this?” he asked no one in particular. 

“Cause everyone travelled in for the wedding last night and you have the biggest house,” Lup said. She ran her hands through his hair, leaning over to plant a kiss on his forehead. “Up and at ‘em.” 

Taako rolled off of her, his face now planted firmly into the mattress, but he could still hear her speaking. “Krav, why the fuck are you on the floor? Get up! It’s time to go! It’s wedding day!”

“You’re the reason I’m down here,” Kravitz protested. Taako could hear footsteps, the door swinging open and snapping closed again, and then the mattress shifted beneath him, followed by a hand on his shoulder. 

“Well, that was something,” Kravitz mused. Taako turned over again before he spoke. 

“Lup is something,” he told his boyfriend knowledgeably before finally swinging his feet off of the side of the bed and standing up. Kravitz followed, trailing after the elf towards the bedroom door.

“She’s very excited,” Kravitz remarked. 

“She’s been to, like five weddings in her lifetime,” Taako explained. “We were crashing four of them to steal shit and the fifth one was hers. I get being excited for a party, but  _ fuck,  _ Taako needs his beauty sleep.” 

Kravitz laughed fondly as the pair of them padded down the hall and into the kitchen where Lup was excitedly pulling out pans and plates. Barry was sitting at the kitchen bar, rubbing his eyes and blinking. His hair was messy and his glasses were on the table in front of him. He looked like he’d just been woken up, too. Kravitz sunk down next to him into a chair, nodding. They were pretty good friends now, he thought. “What’s going on?” he said.

Barry shrugged, sliding his glasses back onto his face. “I genuinely do not know,” he said. “I was in bed, asleep, and now I am here.”

Kravitz hummed, nodding in agreement. That was a pretty accurate depiction of his morning, too. He shifted his gaze from Barry back to Taako who had joined Lup in gathering ingredients from the cupboards. 

Taako knew how to cook. Even when he had no idea what the fuck was going on in the rest of his life, he knew how to cook. Cooking was his one constant and he was damn good at it. Even if he was still a little bitter about being abruptly dragged from his bed, he was still going to make one hell of a breakfast for the full house. 

Magnus trailed into the kitchen first, drawn likely by the smell of bacon sizzling away in a pan. Rubbing tiredness out of his eyes, he dropped down into a seat at the kitchen bar next to Barry. “What’s cookin’, good lookin’?” he asked. 

“The best damn breakfast you’ve ever fuckin’ had,” Taako and Lup said at exactly the same time before spinning to face each other. 

“He was talking to me,” Taako said, crossing his arms. 

“Clearly, he was talking to me,” Lup said. “I’m the far superior twin.” 

Taako opened his mouth to speak again before Barry cut him off. “Relax, girls, you’re both pretty,” he said. “Where’s everyone else?” 

“Merle was still asleep in our guest room when I came in here,” Magnus said. “His kids are with Angus.” He paused for a beat before he spoke again. “It was kinda nice sleeping with Merle again.” 

“What the  _ fuck, _ ” Taako said, spinning around brandishing a spatula, “did you just say?”

“I said it was-” Magnus stopped, his eyes widening. “Oh, shit. No, that wasn’t what I…” He trailed off to peels of laughter from Taako, Lup, and Barry and a very bright smile from Kravitz. 

“Like you guys don’t accidentally make sex jokes!” Magnus said, but it didn’t have much weight because he was laughing, too.

“Yeah, but I make them on purpose,” Lup said.

“And I don’t make jokes about fucking  _ Merle, _ ” Taako said, wheezing.

Magnus sat back, trying to hide a smile and fake being disappointed until the laughter stopped. “But do you get it?” he said when the kitchen was quiet again save for the sizzling of meat and eggs in separate pans. “Like, the first night after we left the Bureau, Taako, when we were all in our own places… I couldn’t sleep. It was just so… Weird, you know? Being alone…” 

Taako turned from the stove, his head tilted slightly. “Honestly, I get it,” he said. “I couldn’t, either, and I had the dopest set up.” He paused, preparing to be vulnerable which wasn’t something he willingly did often. There was… There was always Lup. Then the crew. Then you and Merle. After we, you know…” He tapped the side of his head. “Got our lives back. Dude, took me weeks to be able to meditate on my own.”

The kitchen was quiet again, a meditative quiet, while everyone pondered Magnus and Taako’s comments. “I didn’t sleep in the umbrastaff,” Lup said. “But I was also, like, not super conscious all the time. At least when I got back I had that weirdo to keep me company.” She shifted her gaze to her husband, smiling fondly as she whisked up some eggs.

“I’m not weird,” Barry protested. “You’re weird…” 

Lup laughed, shaking her head again. Barry rested his chin on his hands, thinking. “My ten years sucked,” he said. I didn’t sleep when I was in my lich form because, you know… Lich. And even when I was Barry and I only had what the coin reminded me… There was still something missing, you know? I could always feel it. I could feel in  _ here  _ that something wasn’t right.” He tapped his heart on the word  _ here  _ for emphasis.

“Yeah,” Taako said, studying the second group of bacon slices sizzling in the pan. “I get it.”

There was silence again before Kravitz spoke up. “That’s shitty,” he said truthfully. “I mean, I’m dead, but… That’s pretty shitty.” 

Taako laughed, turning from the pan to pat his boyfriend on the cheek and kiss him on the tip of the nose. “I know, and I love you,” he said. Kravitz blushed but smiled, pleased by the affection. Magnus and Barry smiled. 

Before Taako could turn back to the stove, he heard another sizzle in a pan and the smell of something cooking wafted over him. “Shit, Lup,” he said, turning around with his whisk in hand. “What the hell is that?” 

Lup shifted slightly, poking at whatever was cooking in the pan. “You had some salmon left, figured I’d cook it before it went bad.” 

“It smells like it already went bad,  _ fuck _ ,” he said. “Get rid of it, I’m gonna puke.” 

Lup frowned. “Really? I didn’t think it was that bad.” She sniffed it again but shrugged. “Alright, I guess,” she said. “Is it overkill to cast, like, banishment on a fish? Probably. I’ll take it out…” She picked up the pan, elbowing Taako in the side as she went. Taako, satisfied, turned back to his own work and the kitchen fell into a comfortable quiet. Barry, Kravitz, and Magnus were talking at the bar while Taako and Lup, after she came back, finished cooking breakfast. They were just about done when a sound like a herd of horses started down the stairs. 

Mookey burst into the kitchen shouting, “Dad, Dad, Dad!!” Mavis was following him more sedately and just behind her was Angus. Mookey skidded towards the kitchen bar, almost colliding with Magnus. Luckily, Magnus threw his hands out, catchimg the youngster before he hit something. 

“Your dad’s not up yet, kiddo,” Magnus said, scooping him up and plopping the little dwarf in his knee. 

Mookey pouted, crossing his arms over his chest, but before long he was grinning again and laughing as Magnus bounced him up and down. Mavis and Angus broke apart, Mavis stopping next to Magnus and Mookey and Angus going behind the counter to linger near Taako. “I watched the children last night, sir,” Angus said. “Nothing was destroyed. But I still don’t know why you wanted me to ‘babysit’ them because Mavis and I are the same age.”

“Cause I trust you, pumpkin,” Taako said. He bent over, kissing Angus on the forehead. “Now go set the table.”

Angus scampered off, prepping the dining table for the breakfast they were about to have. 

Merle wandered in just as Taako and Lup were carrying dishes laden with eggs and bacon and toast and other dishes straight from the Taako From TV Cookbook. Everyone migrated from the kitchen bar to the dining table, and then all 9 of them were sitting around the table. Taako ended up at the head, where he was certain he belonged, with Kravitz and Angus on his right and Lup and Barry on his left with the rest of the group filling out the table. 

“Sleep good, pumpkin?” Taako asked Angus, sticking a forkful of eggs in his mouth. “Sorry you had to share but I was not leaving Merle’s kid alone in my house.”

“It was fine, Taako,” Angus said, his head dipped slightly over his plate as he started to eat. “After Mookey went to sleep, Mavis and I stayed up for a bit. We talked about books. She likes Caleb Cleveland, too! She’s really nice. I like her.”

Taako grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. “You like her, do you?” he said. 

Angus looked up suddenly, flushing darkly. “Not like that!” he protested. “I mean… Maybe? I don’t know! She’s nice!” 

Taako cackled, his fork clinking against his plate as he set it down. “Krav, ruffle his hair affectionately so I don’t have to reach over you,” he said. Kravitz shrugged and did as he was asked, unable to suppress a smile as he did it. Angus was still flushing but he was smiling, too.

Taako had a big family again and he fucking loved it. He loved it so, so much even though it terrified him. 

Carrey and Killian’s wedding was shaping up to be a pretty damn great day, after all. 

Was***

“I know I like parties, but fuck,” Taako said, sinking down into a chair next to Kravitz. “This is a lot. My feet hurt like a bitch.”

“You did absolutely annihilate in that dance battle,” Kravitz said, drumming his fingers lightly on the side of his wine glasses.

“And I caught Carrey’s bouquet,” Taako added, elbowing Kravitz in the side. “Get moving, bone daddy.”

Kravitz laughed, leaning over to give Taako a kiss on the side of the head. “Why do I have to be the one to propose?” he asked. “You could do it, you know.”

“I definitely could, but I won’t,” Taako said. “You know me. I like being the center of attention and what better way to be the center of attention than being proposed to?” 

“Fair enough,” Kravitz said. “Are we about to head out?” 

“Yeah, I think so,” Taako said. The party was starting to wind down. The happy couple had drifted away and the rest of the party-goers were peeling away, too. Magnus had, a few minutes prior, told Taako goodbye and that he wasn’t coming back to the house. He needed to go home and check on his dogs since someone else had been looking after them while he’d been gone. “Lup and Barry are adults, they can get back on their own fine. We just need Merle and Angus.”

“What about Merle’s kids?” Kravitz asked. 

“Hekuba came by for them earlier, I think,” Taako said.

Kravitz nodded, squeezing Taako’s shoulder as he stood up. “I’ll go find Merle,” he said. “Grab Angus?”

Taako nodded, wincing as he pulled himself to his feet. He meandered around the outsides of the reception space, searching for Angus. He figured wisely that was where the little boy would be and he ended up being right. There were a few chairs lined up against the wall and Angus was stretched out on them, fast asleep, one hand holding a book on his chest and the other dangling off the chairs. 

“Oh, Angus,” he said softly, smiling. He eased the book out of Angus’ hand, tucking it into one of his spacious pockets before murmuring a spell to himself, something to give himself a little strength boost. Then, very carefully, he leaned down and scooped up the little boy bridal style. Angus didn’t even wake up, his head now resting against Taako’s chest. Angus was adorable, Taako thought, and by gods, he’d fight anyone who said otherwise. 

He made his way back towards where he’d left his boyfriend, careful not to wake Angus. Luckily, he was still snoozing as Kravitz approached him, tailed by Merle. 

“Found him,” Kravitz said, pointing. Merle stumbles up behind him, squeezing his eyes shut and opening them again to focus on Taako.

“Who’s that?” he asked. “Hold on… I know you…Chalupa! You’re a chalupa.”

“Nice try, buddy,” Taako said. “Try Taako.”

“Taako!” Merle said brightly and very loudly. “You’re Taako. We saved the world together. We also killed a  _ fuckton _ of people. ‘Member that? We should do that again.”

“Yes, I do, and no, we shouldn’t,” Taako said. “If you wake up my boy I’ll kill you in your sleep.”

Merle nodded solemnly, falling silently beside Kravitz. 

“I ran into Barry and Lup,” Kravitz said. “They’re gonna help clean up for a bit and then meet us back at the house.” 

Taako hummed and nodded. “Good,” he said. “Alright, let’s head out. Can you rift? I don’t want to walk all the way back and wake up Angus.”

Kravitz stuck his hand into his jacket, pulling his scythe out of an impossibly small pocket. He dragged it through the air in front of them, slicing a hole through their current plane. He stepped through before turning back slightly, waiting for Taako and Merle. Taako stepped through first. Merle somehow managed to trip on the rift in their plane when he crossed over behind Taako. 

Taako snorted, shaking his head slightly as Kravitz sealed the rift behind them. “Don’t you have a spell that instantly makes you sober or something?” he asked.

“Do I?” Merle asked. He scrunched his nose up in thought before speaking again. “I don’t remember it.” 

“That’s pretty on brand,” Taako said. “That makes perfect sense.” 

Kravitz paced in front of the two of them a few more feet before he sliced open another rift. He doubled back, bending down slightly to put his hand on Merle’s back and guide him through the rift. “The last thing I need is to lose a dwarf in the astral plane,” he said. Taako followed them through the rift and into the living room of their home, still carrying Angus who was fast asleep against his chest. 

“You get him into a bed and I’ll take Angus,” Taako said. 

Kravitz nodded, steering Merle in one direction and disappearing out of the living room. Taako took the stairs, skipping the one that always creaked, and nudged the door to Angus’ room open with his foot. He remembered when the house was finished and they showed Angus his room for the first time. He had been so excited to have his own room that it was adorable and heartbreaking at the same time. 

Unfortunately, Angus was neat and had up the bed that morning. Well, it was late and Taako has spell slots to burn. Even if he didn’t have many, he’d still do it for Angus. He quietly cast levitate on the sheets before lowering the kid onto the bed and tucking him in firmly. He’d never felt this… Paternal before. It was weird. But Angus was weird. He was weird. 

Angus didn’t stir until Taako was putting the finishing touches on his tucking job. “Taako?” he mumbled. “Where..?”

“At home, pumpkin,” Taako said. “You had a long day. Rest.” 

Angus hummed and turned over to lay on his side facing Taako without opening his eyes. Taako felt something soften in his chest and a song flutter up in his heart. He wasn’t the singer, that was Kravitz, but it was suddenly very important he sing what was in his heart. 

“ _ Don't you cry, I'm right here with you. Feel the darkness running away from here. Don't you cry, I will stay with you. Nightmare, demons... all end now _ ,” Taako sang softly. He reached forward, brushing a curl of hair off of Angus’ dark forehead. 

“ _ So close your eyes and you will travel to a magic world where peace reigns forever _ ,” he continued. “ _ Today the stars will guide your dreams and protect all the things above you. Tonight an angel will come to give you a kiss only for you _ .” He paused there, leaning forward to press a gentle, tender kiss to Angus’ temple. “ _ Sweet dreaming now, my little piece of love _ .” 

He leaned back, satisfied, and readjusted the covers one more time before he straightened up and turned to leave the room. That was when he almost had a heart attack because Kravitz was standing in the doorway.

“Oh my fucking gods,” he whispered, his hand over his heart. “ _ Fuck _ , you almost killed me.” Kravitz smiled mildly, stepping aside. Taako left the room, pulling the door closed quietly and dragging Kravitz to the side. 

“You almost killed me,” he repeated, his hand tight around one of his boyfriend’s lapels. 

“That was sweet,” Kravitz said, ignoring the comment. “Where’d you learn that?” 

“Lup and I learned it when we were kids,” Taako said. He released Kravitz’s suit, smoothing it down. “Our aunt taught us. We used to sing it to each other when there was no one else.” 

Kravitz smiled softly again, tucking a piece of hair behind Taako’s ear. “You’re sweet,” he said. “I love you.”

“Back at you, bone daddy,” he said. Taako paused, tilting his head slightly, before he spoke again. 

“I put Merle in the guest room downstairs,” Kravitz said. “But that’s kind of overselling what I did. He fell onto the bed face first and was instantly asleep. I just pulled his shoes off.”

Taako shook his head, laughing. “Yeah, that’s Merle,” he said. He paused for a beat before he spoke again. “Hey, do you want to fuck?” he asked.

Kravitz nodded firmly. “Absolutely,” he said. “I really, really want to have sex with you.”

Taako grinned, pulling his hand away when Kravitz tried to take it. “Catch me if you can,” he teased before he darted towards the staircase. He could hear Kravitz’s laugh behind him as he made it to the stairs. He was halfway down when his speed faltered and he grabbed the railing so tight his knuckles turned white. Kravitz nearly crashed into his back, knocking the elf over. But Taako was still standing, barely, as Kravitz squeezed his shoulder. 

“Caught you,” he whispered into Taako’s ear. Normally, Taako would have been super into that but that moment wasn’t normal. 

Kravitz realized something was off when Taako didn’t respond. He immediately came around to Taako’s side, his face drawn and concerned. “Taako,” he said. “Are you okay?” 

Taako shook his head, his lips firmly pressed together, but it seemed to be in vain because he bent over and threw up.

Kravitz squeezed his shoulder again, supporting him to keep him from going down the stairs, too. “Taako!” he said. “Shit, shit… What happened? Are you okay?” 

Taako shook his head again, his breath heaving, and pressed the back of his hand to his mouth. “I think… I think you should wake up Merle,” he said weakly before his vision went fuzzy and white and he collapsed into Kravitz’s arms.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Kravitz sings is This is Why We Fight by the Decemberists and Taako’s is Lullaby by Arwen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merle is competent. Taako and Kravitz get some new information.

There was something annoyingly tickling Taako’s face. It could’ve been his hair or one of the cats’ tails. He reached up with one hand that felt oddly heavy and tried to swat it away but he didn’t quite make it. He huffed a little, irritated at the failed attempt, and tried again without opening his eyes. There was slight pressure on his hand this time, like someone was squeezing his hand. “Taako?” a voice said out of the heaviness and Taako recognized that. It was Kravitz.

“Am I dead?” he asked, finally opening his eyes. Kravitz was standing next to him, holding his hand. “You’d come get me if I were dead, right? You wouldn’t pawn me off on one of those inexperienced new bitches?”

“I’d come get you, Taako,” Kravitz promised.

“And I’d get the red carpet treatment?” Taako questioned. “I’m basically royalty down there.”

“Yes, yes, of course you would,” Kravitz said. Taako could see some of the tension melt out of his shoulders as he smiled faintly. “You scared me,” he said. 

Taako frowned at that. “Scared you? What did…” He trailed off, his foggy memories coming back bit by bit. They were going to the bedroom to get down when he’d thrown up on the stairs and then collapsed. That was definitely not normal. “Oh, shit,” he said. “Did you get-” 

“I got him,” Kravitz said. He nodded towards the other side of the bed where Merle was standing. “Took him a minute to remember the sobering up spell but my natural appearance definitely helped.”

“Aw,” Taako said. “You scared the shit out of Merle for me!” He shifted his gaze to the dwarf on his other side. “So, what’s the verdict, cleric?” he asked. “You’ve healed me already, right?”

“I’m working on it,” Merle said. He was leaning back on his heels, frowning. “I tried one when I first came in. It came up empty. Like there’s nothing to heal.”

“I literally puked my guts up and passed out and you’re telling me there’s nothing to heal?” Taako asked.

“That’s what the spell’s saying. It’s almost like-” Merle stopped talking abruptly as if he’d just had an idea. “Kravitz, could you get me rock salt and cinnamon from the kitchen?”

Kravitz nodded, squeezing Taako’s hand again before he swept away. “Rock salt and cinnamon,” Taako repeated. “Dude, I’ve known you for over a century and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you run a healing spell with that.”

“It’s not for a healing spell,” Merle said. He dug into his cleric’s bag, pulling out a few bottles and containers of different herbs before he started to mash them together using a mortar and pestle. 

“Then what the fuck is it for?” Taako asked.

“I’m getting there, I’m getting there,” Merle said. “It could be nothing. Could be you’re just dehydrated from a long day or your blood sugar dropped.” He ground some sort of root under the pestle as he spoke. “Or… Taako, could you be pregnant?”

Taako’s brain filled with static for a few moments after Merle spoke. “Pregnant,” Taako repeated. He laughed as he shifted his weight again to sit up against the wall. “Dude, my boyfriend - and the  _ only person I’ve had sex with in ages _ \- is basically a skeleton. He’s Death. I don’t think it’s possible.”

“Think,” Merle said, tapping his temple. “You and I both know we can be real fucking dense sometimes. What we think isn’t always right.”

“You got me there,” he said. “But there’s no way-“ 

“Taako,” Merle said interrupting him again. “Taako, listen to me. I literally have two things and healing is one of them. Let me do this.”

Taako heaved a sigh. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll do it if it’s going to prove you wrong.” 

A few moments later, Kravitz reappeared holding their small tin of cinnamon in one hand and a small jar in the other. “All we have right now is sea salt,” he said.

“Ah, that’s fine,” Merle said. He dumped the mashed-up leaves and roots from the mortar into a glass before squeezing the juice of an odd-smelling fruit into it and adding salt. He swished it around before sprinkling cinnamon on it and swishing it around again. “Drink my shit,” Merle said. 

Taako pulled a face. “Gross,” he said. “That smells terrible.” 

“Don’t care,” Merle said. “Drink it.” He held the glass out towards Taako who did not look at all excited about the development. He held his nose before he tipped his head back and drained the glass. 

“Holy  _ shit _ ,” Taako said, spluttering, when he had finished. “That’s fucking awful.” 

“Yeah, I know,” Merle said. “The cinnamon is supposed to help but it really doesn’t.”

Taako wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, holding out the glass. Kravitz took it, setting it aside as Taako spoke again. “So what’s supposed to happen now?” he asked.

“You’re gonna lock your hands together,” Merle said, demonstrating in front of him, “like you’re going to-”

“Make a fart sound, yeah,” Taako said, proceeding to make said sound with his joined hands.

Merle snickered and even Kravitz, who had been hovering nearby nervously, cracked a smile.

“So, what do I do now?” Taako asked.

“You’re gonna to repeat after me,” Merle said. “This is an old Dwarvish spell so that’s what this incantation is in.” Taako nodded, waiting for Merle to speak. They all knew a bit of each other’s native tongues from living on the Starblaster together for so long but Taako wasn’t fluent in Dwarvish by any means.

“ _ Jina vaem jr evor, _ ” Merle said. 

“ _ Jina vaem jr evor _ ,” Taako repeated. 

“Okay,” Merle said. “Now you’re gonna open your hands and cup ‘em like you’re holdin’ water.”

Taako, studying his clasped hands intently, released and cupped them as instructed. Instead of being empty like they should’ve been, there were two small flames fluttering between them.

“What does that mean?” Taako asked, looking from the flickering flames to Kravitz who looked just as confused as he did and Merle who was grinning widely. “I don’t like that look,” he said. “I don’t like it one bit. What does this mean?”

“It means I was right,” Merle said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Congrats, kid. It’s twins.”

In any other situation, Taako would’ve ripped on Merle for calling him kid but their current moment was not any other situation. Merle was telling him he was pregnant. He stared at the flames, transfixed, as Kravitz blurted out, “I’m sorry,  _ what? _ ” 

“He’s pregnant,” Merle explained, crossing his arms and grinning. He was clearly proud of himself for that one. “Had a suspicion just a few minutes ago. Morning sickness is pretty typical. You complained about your feet hurting when we were dancing at the wedding and I’ve seen you hike miles in heels without a word. That and the weakness on the stairs can be chalked up to tiredness which is another symptom. And Magnus mentioned you wouldn’t let Lup cook a fish this morning. Food aversion is typically. We lived on the beach and Hekuba couldn’t even smell a fish for months when she was pregnant with Mookey. That’s why my healing spell didn’t work. You’re not hurt and you’re not really sick, either.” He smiled softly, glancing over at Taako’s hands. “Each of the flames represents a kid.”

Taako could hear Merle talking, but it was all sort of washing over him. He was pregnant. He was actually pregnant, somehow, with his dead boyfriend’s babies.

“But that can’t be possible,” Kravitz said. “I’m not… Merle, I’m not  _ alive _ . Dead people can’t make kids!”

Merle shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell ya, buddy,” he said. “But I know my magic and I know he” - the dwarf pointed to Taako - “is pregnant.” Merle patted Taako on the knee, the closest thing he could reach at that moment and smiled again. “I’ll leave you two alone,” he said. “The flames will disappear in a minute. If you need anything else, you know where to find me.”

Numbly, Taako nodded. He didn’t even look up, still staring at the flames. Each one of them was a kid he was carrying. A kid he and Kravitz had made. He heard the door click closed and felt the bed he was sitting on shift. He finally dragged his eyes up, finding himself looking at Kravitz.

Kravitz has climbed onto the bed in front of Taako, hesitantly studying the flames, too. His own eyes glanced up to meet Taako’s. “You’re pregnant,” he said.

“Seems to be that way, yeah,” Taako said, speaking without giving it much thought because most of his brain power was consumed elsewhere.

Kravitz shifted forward on the bed, towards Taako, and so gently reached up so his broader hands were holding Taako’s up. “Twins,” he said. “We made that. Them.”

“I know,” Taako said.

“I don’t know how we did that,” Kravitz said, nervousness clearly coloring his voice, “but we did. Do you… How, um…” He tapered off, glancing up at Taako. “What do you want?”

Almost as soon as Kravitz spoke, the flames disappeared like someone had pinched them between their fingers. The fire was gone but what they represented was definitely still there. Taako let his hands go slack until Kravitz was holding them up and the reaper let them fall to Taako’s lap.

“To go to sleep,” Taako said, looking up at his boyfriend. “This has been a long day and I need to knock out before I pass out. We’ll talk in the morning.”

Taako turned his hand over, squeezing one of Kravitz’s before wiggling under the covers. “Get up,” he said, touching Kravitz’s knee with his foot from under the blanket. Kravitz shifted and slid off the bed, lingering nearby as Taako stretched out. He stayed there a few moments after Taako had pulled the blankets up to his chin, prompting the elf to say, “Well, what’re you looking at? Get in, babe.”

“Oh, okay,” Kravitz said. “I didn’t know if…”

“Just come spoon me, bone man,” Taako said. Kravitz climbed into the bed behind Taako, pressing up against him. Taako was instinctively drawn to his presence and he already felt better when there was an arm draped over him. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, sinking into meditation. That night, he didn’t dream.

***

When Taako woke up, Kravitz was still right against him. It was so familiar, so normal, that Taako forgot everything that happened the night before. He breathed in deeply once and then exhaled, relishing in the feeling of being in his gigantic, cozy bed with his boyfriend. He wondered for a beat why there was a weight in his chest and that was when he remembered. He was pregnant. 

“Oh,” he said. He shifted slightly on the bed, prompting Kravitz to retract his arm. Taako flipped over onto his other side so he was facing his boyfriend. Kravitz was watching him much like he had been the last morning but slightly more concerned. 

“Morning, love,” he said. 

Taako smiled faintly. He always got stupidly giddy when Kravitz used pet names like that. “Morning,” Taako said. “Last night, like… Happened, right? I didn’t imagine it?”

“You didn’t imagine it,” Kravitz affirmed. “It very much did happen.”

“Oh,” Taako said. “Cool, cool, cool, cool. Cool. Super cool.”

Kravitz cracked a smile but it was tinged with something else. Maybe nervousness. Maybe it was just concern again.

“We should probably talk about that, right?” Kravitz asked.

“That does sound like the smart thing to do,” Taako said. “What are you thinking? Hit me.”

Kravitz hesitates, shifting on the bed to sit up against the headboard. He put one hand on her upper thigh and Taako understood his cue, wiggling up on the bed so his head was in Kravitz’s lap. He’d barely put it down before Kravitz was fidgeting gently with his hair, starting to braid. “I did have a lot of time to think during the night,” he admitted. “A lot. I’m still not entirely sure how we, you know…”

“Made babies?” Taako suggested.

“Yeah,” Kravitz said. “Made babies. I thought about trying to talk to the Raven Queen, but I didn’t want to commune with her without you, you know. And I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“Sweet,” Taako said. “But you didn’t really answer the question, babe. What are you thinking?” 

“I don’t know if I want to tell you,” Kravitz said. “It’s your body, after all. I don’t know if you’d even want to have them. I don’t know if there are any… Complications because of, well… Me being what I am. I was human, and now I’m… Well, sort of human, but not really. Somewhere between alive and dead. And if carrying something that has that genetic make up could hurt you in any way… I couldn’t imagine that. I think you’re the first person I’ve cared about in thousands of years. Your health, your life, is the most important thing to me.”

Taako was quiet as his boyfriend spoke and played with his blonde hair, listening to every word. “Fuck me,” he said. “What did I do to deserve you?”

Kravitz smiled a little easier this time. “You didn’t have to do anything except be yourself,” he said. He chuckled softly before he spoke again. “Remember when we met?” he said. “We were on that lab and I was trying to take you to the astral plane.”

“And we tried to kill your crystal golem envoy,” Taako recalled. “Damn, we really did an enemies to lovers speed run, didn’t we?”

“We totally did,” Kravitz agreed, pulling gently on the braid he was working on to tighten it. “I’m really glad you invited me to that wine and pottery thing.” 

“Dude, me too,” Taako said. He sighed softly, watching Kravitz’s face while he worked on the braid. His brow was furrowed slightly in concentration but other than that, he looked calm almost. “I love you, babe, but you gotta stop dodging the question. What are you thinking?”

“I don’t want to influence your decision,” Kravitz confessed. Gods, Taako couldn’t believe how soft his boyfriend was now. The Taako from Lucas’ ship when they’d met wouldn’t have believed what was happening. “Like… If I say I don’t want kids and you do or I do and you don’t… I don’t want to change your mind.”

“Yeah, I know,” Taako said. “Ultimately, like, the buck stops with me or whatever. My body, my choice. But I’m super fucking strong-willed, Krav. I can absolutely promise you that you’re not gonna make me do something I don’t want to. Tell me right now, straight up, do you want to have kids with me?”

Kravitz let out a soft breath, his hands stilling in Taako’s hair. “I do,” he said. “I want to do this with you.”

“Good,” Taako said. “We’re on the same page, then.”

“We are?” Kravitz asked. “You want to?”

Taako hummed softly. “Yeah,” he said. “I’m gonna be straight with you, Krav.” He stopped for a beat before he spoke again. “That’s a lie, I can’t do that. I’m so queer. I’m gonna be  _ real _ with you, babe. I hadn’t put much thought into it ever. Growing up, it was just me and Lup, you know? I didn’t have  _ time  _ to think about anything else. In that century, when we were traveling... That wasn’t an option. Then it was The Taako Show. All Taako, all the time. I didn’t want anyone around me and that included kids. But now…” Taako shrugged a little. “When Merle was like yo, you’re pregnant, I felt… content? Like it was meant to be. I felt that shit in here.” He tapped above his heart with his knuckles. “I felt  _ good. _ I know I’m usually pretty aloof, all Taako’s good out here, but I feel shit and I feel it fucking strong. Beating heart, fully realized creation and all that. And what I feel first, I usually roll with.” Taako smiled softly, reaching above him to touch Kravitz’s cheek. “Why change that now?”

Kravitz released Taako’s hair with one hand, touching the hand on his cheek. “Hey, Taako?” he said.

“Yeah?” Taako asked. 

“I love you so much.”

Taako smiled again, patting Kravitz’s cheek. “Good man,” he said. “Now finish my hair. I can’t have half-done braids.”

They settled into a comfortable quiet, Kravitz humming softly as he worked on Taako’s hair. Their quiet was only broken a few minutes later by Taako speaking. “Are we gonna tell people?” he asked “I mean, dumb question. We have to. When is probably the better one.”

Kravitz shrugged. “Whenever you want to,” he said. “That’s your call, babe. But if I know you, and I do, i suspect you want to make it a production.”

“Uh, hells yeah,” Taako said. “I’m thinking about a dinner party, cooked by me and about me. But Ango should be first. Because, you know, he lives here.”

Kravitz laughed fondly. “That sounds perfect,” he said. There was another beat of silence before Taako spoke again.

“We’re gonna be parents,” he said. “That’s a weird fucking thought. Krav, we’re gonna be dads.”

“Aren’t we already, though?” Kravitz asked, his focus on pulling another small braid together. “Or you, at least.”

“I guess you’re right,” Taako said. “They might not be super alive yet, but-”

Kravitz shook his head, cutting off Taako’s stream of consciousness. “No, I mean Angus,” he said.

“Angus?” Taako repeated, his brow furrowing in confusion. “Angus isn’t my… He’s not… I’m not…” He was spluttering, searching for words that weren’t there. “I’m not his dad!”

“Aren’t you, though?” Kravitz said. “I mean… He lives with us? And you walk him to and from school a lot. And make his lunches.”

“Yeah, so I know he’s eating,” Taako said. “He’s a little squirt, he needs proper nutrition.”

“And you protect him,” Kravitz said. “And teach him things and love him. Those are dad things, right? You’ve said multiple times that if anything bad ever happened to him you’d probably kill yourself.”

“Maybe,” Taako said. “But I’m not his… I just love him more than life itself and would do absolutely anything to make him happy and protect him. That doesn’t make me his dad.”

Kravitz arched an eyebrow while he wove three more sections of hair together. “Think about it for a second, baby,” he said. 

Taako scrunched his forehead in concentration, mentally running through everything that had just been said and, after a few moments of silence, he shot up into a sitting position. “Oh my gods,” he said. “Oh my gods. I’m Angus’ dad. Kravitz, I’m Angus’ dad. Angus is my son.”

Kravitz hummed and nodded, patting Taako’s shoulder. “I knew you’d get there eventually,” he said. 

Taako spun around to face Kravitz. “How long have you known?” he demanded. “Krav, look at me.  _ Look at me.  _ How long have you known? How long have you known that I’m a dad?” He grabbed Kravitz’s collar and pulled him closer. “ _ How long have you known?” _

Kravitz tried his best to suppress a laugh and failed, cracking a half smile. “I’m sorry,” he protested. “I didn’t know that  _ you  _ didn’t know or I would’ve told you.”

“Oh my fucking gods!” Taako shouted again. He threw his legs off the bed and started towards the door, flinging it open. 

“Wait, Taako,” Kravitz said, suppressing a laugh again. “Where are you going?”

Taako didn’t answer, instead continuing to storm through the house. He only paused briefly when he got to another bedroom door before throwing it open, barging in, and shouting, “Did you know I had a son?”

It was Lup and Barry’s room and the two figures under the blankets shifted at Taako’s commotion. Barry groaned and pulled the blanket over his head. Lup, blinking as if Taako was a light that was too bright, sat up a fraction and squinted at him. “I’m sorry, what?” she said.

“You know what I said,” Taako said, pointing a finger at his sister. “Did you know I have a son?”

“Well, yeah,” Lup said, rubbing her eyes with one hand. “Why are you asking?” 

“Holy fuck,” Taako said. “Are you joking? How long have you known?” 

Lup hesitated, shrugging. “I don’t know, as long as I’ve been back? Shit was kinda hazy in the umbrella but when I saw you guys together before you got on the Starblaster, I sorta… Assumed?”

“You thought I made a baby and didn’t tell you?” Taako asked. 

“No?” she said. “He’s definitely all human. But I let him use my umbrastaff, dude. I wouldn’t even let Mags use it but I let him hold it. He felt like you. So I guess I was inclined to believe he was yours. Is he not?”

Taako heaved a sigh, sinking down onto the edge of the bed facing the door. Lup kicked out of the blankets, scrambling to sit behind him, just over his shoulders. “Dude, did you not know?”

“Apparently not,” Taako said. “Fuck, dude…”

“Well, what did you think he was?” Lup prompted, resting her head on Taako’s shoulder from behind him. 

“I don’t know,” Taako said weakly. “I just thought he was my special magic boy and…” He trailed off, crossing his arms. “Fuck,” he said again. “I do have a son.” 

“Congrats, bro,” Lup said, draping an arm over Taako’s other shoulder. “You got a boy.”

Taako heaved a deep sigh and would’ve thrown himself back onto the bed dramatically if Lup hadn’t been right behind him. He was only allowed a few moments of peace to think before his sister spoke again. “So, what brought that up?” she prodded. 

“Something Krav said,” Taako explained. “I said, whoa, it’s weird that we’re gonna be dads, and he said, but we already are, aren’t we? Which was news to me because I  _ just _ figured out Angus is my son, like… When he said that.” 

“Aw, bro, we always knew you were a little slow,” Lup teased. She poked his side, laughing. It was only a beat later that she stopped. “Wait a second,” she said. “Taako, what do you mean by you and Krav are gonna be dads?” 

“Well,” Taako said. “About that… I haven’t told you much about Kravitz’s dick.”

“No, and thank god for that,” Lup said. 

“But it works,” Taako said. “It works  _ real good.  _ In multiple ways.”

“Taako!” Lup shouted. The loud noise made Barry, still bundled under the blankets, groan, turn over, and pull the blanket farther over his head. Lup threw her arms around him, squeezing him tight. “Are you for real?”

“Yeah,” Taako said. “Twins.” 

Lup yelped again, squeezing him tighter. “Taako,” she said. “You’re carrying on our legacy of chaos and I couldn’t be prouder.”

Taako laughed, leaning back into her hug. “You’re gonna be the best aunt,” he said. 

“Auntie Lup,” she said, releasing the hug but still staying draped over her brother. “I like the sound of that…”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako has a dream, shows off a new spell, and visits the in-law.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what I based _  
>   
> [the Raven Queen](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/theadventurezone/images/2/20/The_Raven_Queen_by_japhers.png/revision/latest/top-crop/width/220/height/220?cb=20191107013812)  
>   
> _ off of! I loved writing her, she’s an icon

_ There’s a bright red apple in Taako’s hand. The skin is glossy with rivulets of water running down the sides and dripping into his hand. He brings it to his lips, taking a large bite and listening to it crunch as he does it. It’s a small one, so it doesn’t take him long to finish it off. When there’s nothing left but the fire, he tosses it out into the field.  _

_ Taako clears his throat, rolling his head to pop his neck. It was time to get to work. And even though it is raining gently, Taako finds himself not minding the light drizzle even though it threatens to frizz his hair. He shifts his weight until he’s kneeling in the dirt in front of a few lines of plants. They’re vegetables, tomatoes and carrots and potatoes and peppers. The smell of the wet dirt is perfect to him.  _

_ He turns to the side, gently picking up another green plant. It is a tomato that has yet to be planted. He forgoes using his magic, instead using his hands to dig into the dirt, creating a hole in the empty space in his row of tomatoes. Before he gets a few handfuls of dirt into digging, a bug digs through and scampers onto his hand.  _

_ Taako jerks back, mostly out of shock, but the bug seems undeterred. “What the fuck,” he whispers. He leans closer, watching as the bug scampers out of the hole Taako has just dug. It’s a light blue color, almost purple, and Taako recognizes it as a scarab even though he doesn’t know how he knows that. “Come on, out you get,” Taako says. The bug scampers under his leg and disappears. Taako goes back to digging, and before he knows it, there’s another of the scarabs. He heaves a sigh, lifting it out before getting back to his work.  _

_ He’s just pushing dirt around the plant when a raven caws two inches from his ear. He flinches, jerks, and- _

woke up. “What the shit,” Taako said, one hand on his chest. “That was…” He tapered off, frowning. He remembered the raven’s cry vividly but the rest of the dream was already leaking away, like trying to hold water in cupped hands. Before he could think about in much longer, there was a knock at the door and Angus McDonald was pushing it open, sticking his head carefully into the opening. 

“Sir?” he said. “Are you done meditating yet? Ms. Ren is here to talk about the school again.”

“Yeah, I’m done, pumpkin,” Taako said, his heart rate slowing down.” The elf rose from where he had been sitting with his legs crossed to cross to the door that Angus pushed open the rest of the way. It was just a weird dream. Nothing to spend another thought on.

***

“Hey, Kravitz,” Taako said. 

Kravitz was sitting across the room from Taako on the floor with his legs crossed, his hands in loose fists with his fingers pressed together. He explained to Taako early on that he didn’t sleep and he hadn’t slept for years and years but that going that long conscious the whole time was a bit much. He often meditated to have a bit of time that he wasn’t constantly absorbing new stimuli. However, he opened his eyes when Taako spoke. “What?” he asked.

“Come here,” Taako said. “I want to show you something.” 

Kravitz nodded, rising to his feet gracefully without even uncrossing his legs. He crossed the room towards Taako then dropped onto the sofa next to him not-so-gracefully. “What is it?” he asked, curious now.

“I was trying to figure out how to get this to work and I think I finally managed it,” Taako said. “Listen. If this works, it’s going to be super awesome.” 

Taako could see Kravitz’s brow furrow in a slight frown but he didn’t say anything. The wizard wiggled his fingers and hummed something under his breath and then, with little fanfare at all which wasn’t normally very  _ Taako,  _ a spell took effect. The chirping of birds outside their window and the closeness of Kravitz’s breathing faded out and a quiet  _ bumBUM, bumBUM, bumBUM  _ filled his ears. But it wasn’t the only one he heard, though, because it was layered over and other another  _ bumBUM, bumBUM, bumBUM.  _ He grinned, proud that it worked, and he looked up from his lap to Kravitz. 

“Can you hear it?” he asked. His own voice was a little muffled and distorted, so he hoped Kravitz was able to make it out and understand. 

Kravitz nodded, his voice equally muffled. “Yeah, it’s like…” He trailed off, tapping his fingers on his leg. Taako could see the motion but not quite make out the noise. “Two heart…” He stopped in the middle of the word, his eyes widening. “Taako, is that-?”

Taako smiled again, reaching over and taking one of Kravitz’s stupidly, beautifully large hands and putting it against his stomach. They didn’t speak much because Taako was enthralled by the noises, the two distinct  _ baBUM, baBUM, baBUM _ s that thrummed loud and clear in his ears. Their twins. Two almost-living beings that he and Kravitz had made together. He’d known they were there since Merle had told him the night of Carrey and Killian’s wedding, in sort of an abstract way. He couldn’t feel them moving yet, but he knew they were there. But then he’d started tinkering with  _ hear heartbeats.  _ He wanted to make it work so Kravitz could hear them, too. He wanted that to be something they shared together. They shared a lot now in their post-war world and their children’s heartbeat was going to be one of them.

They both sat in silence for a few moments until the sound of the heartbeats faded out and birds chirping outside faded back. Kravitz looked up at Taako’s face from where he was staring, awestruck, at his hand resting on Taako’s stomach. “Taako,” he said. “That was..?”

“Chaos Twins volume 2, yeah,” Taako said, smiling. “Pretty cool, isn’t it?” 

“The coolest,” Kravitz agreed. He immediately moved towards Taako’s side, attracted to his warmth like a cat. Kravitz did tend to do that more often than not and Taako couldn’t say he minded it. He very much enjoyed being the snuggled, but being the snuggler for his perpetually chilled boyfriend was a role he did not mind taking on. “That’s actually… Real. That’s real. We  _ made  _ those, Taako.”

“Yeah, I know,” Taako said. “We totally made those.” He didn’t say anything else until Kravitz looked up again and he was frowning.

“Taako,” he said. “Are you okay?”

“Okay?” Taako repeated. “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you’re crying,” Kravitz said. He reached up, brushing Taako’s cheeks with his thumbs, and they came away wet. 

“Huh,” Taako said. “I suppose I am.” 

Kravitz shifted closer, a concerned look in his dark eyes. “Are you okay? Does something hurt? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Taako said, drawing in a sharp breath. “Kravitz, the problem is that everything’s  _ right. _ ”

Kravitz’s frowned deepened. “That… Sounds like a good thing,” he said.

“I know, I know,” Taako said. He haphazardly swiped a hand across his face, brushing tears out of his eyes. “It’s just… I don’t get good things, Krav. I’m  _ Taako _ . Whenever I finally get good things, like… Like Lup or the IPRE or Sizzle It Up or the Bureau, they get taken away from me. Kravitz, I almost lost you in the astral plane and  _ you can’t even die. _ I don’t want to lose this, too. I don’t want to fuck this up.” 

“You’re not going to fuck it up, honey,” Kravitz said softly, shifting closer to Taako in order to pull him firmly against the Reaper’s side. “I promise you that you aren’t going to fuck it up. You’re going to be the best dad ever. And you definitely aren’t losing any of us. I’m the Grim Reaper. I’ll make sure of that.” 

Taako smiled, a little watery. “Thanks, bone daddy,” he said. “It’s these fucking hormones, I swear.”

“Well, you know you can always talk to me about your fucking hormones,” Kravitz said seriously and it was the seriousness that made Taako laugh.

“Oh, I doubt you’re going to get me to ever shut up,” Taako said, elbowing Kravitz in the side. “Are we still going to see your mom today?” he added. 

“Yeah, if you’re still up for it,” Kravitz said. “And she’s not my mom.”

“Babe, she’s your mom,” Taako said. “If Angus is my son, she’s your mom.”

Kravitz shrugged slightly, rising to his feet. “Are you ready?” he said, offering Taako his hand. 

Taako took it, letting Kravitz help pull him to his feet. “One second,” he said. He lifted his other hand above his head, moving his fingers like he was sprinkling some sort of powder or glitter over himself. Some sparks popped out of his fingers and when the shower faded his face was cleaned up of all tear tracks and he had a fresh face of makeup on. “I’d normally want to do it myself, but we’ve got a very important appointment.”

“You still look beautiful,” Kravitz told him. “Where’s your umbrastaff?”

“By the door,” Taako said. He followed as Kravitz led them to the front door of their home. Hanging on a coatrack by the door was a bright red umbrella. Taako grabbed the end and flipped it up, grabbing it by the handle and spinning it dramatically. “Ready, babe,” he said, leaning up to plant a kiss on Kravitz’s cheek and link their arms together. 

Kravitz nodded, reaching seemingly into thin air. When he pulled his hand back, he was holding a scythe almost as tall as he was. He sliced through the air, cutting through their current plane and opening into the astral plane - the home of his lady, the Raven Queen.

“I can’t believe I’m meeting your mom finally,” Taako said squeezing Kravitz’s arm as they walked through the rift.

“And I can’t believe it’s to tell her I knocked you up,” Kravitz said. 

Taako laughed as the rift sealed behind them. There was a large, glassy lake with the prison for unruly souls perched on a rocky island in the middle. Close by in the barren landscape and overlooking the lake, there was a large, dark, stony palace. Taako whistled in approval when he saw it. “Damn,” he said. “That’s where you live when you’re not with me?”

“Uh-huh,” Kravitz said. “That’s the Fortress of Memories. All the Raven Queen’s bidding happens there. She stays there, I used to before I moved in with you. The two of us as well as Lup and Barry meet there to go over work.” 

As they approached the intimidating fortress, a flock of ravens spread out from the highest tower, cawing loudly and raucously as they departed. One of them made a sharp arc, flying towards Kravitz. The reaper held out his hand and the bird alighted on it, wrapping his talons loosely around him. It squawked at him once, preening its feathers. Kravitz smiled, stroking the bird’s dark feathers before it took off after the rest of the flock. 

“You got friends you didn’t tell me about?” Taako teased. 

“They’re just the Raven Queen’s ravens,” Kravitz said. “They send her messages out into the world and all that. I like to think I’m kind of friends with most of them.”

“Do they have names?” Taako asked. “Please, Pan, let them have names.”

“They have names,” Kravitz said delicately. 

“Oh my gods, Krav,” Taako said. “ _ Did you name them? _ ” 

“Some of them,” Kravitz said. “Some of her ravens have been around longer than I have.”

“What was that one called?” Taako asked as the flock soared across the glassy lake. 

“Daisy,” Kravitz said.

“Babe,” Taako said. “That’s so cute.”

Kravitz cracked a smile. “She brings back daisies from the prime material plane,” he said. “That’s where she got her name. They’re kind of like crows in that some of them bring things back for me and the Raven Queen.”

“You’re so great,” Taako said sincerely. “Kravitz, you’re literally so fucking great.”

Kravitz laughed slightly, nudging Taako with his elbow. “Thanks,” he said. “Are we going to go inside or are we going to sit out here so you can make fun of me?” he added, teasing his boyfriend lightly. 

“Nah, I think we can go in,” Taako said. “I wanna meet your mom.”

“She’s not my mom,” Kravitz said. 

“C’mon, Krav, we’ve been over this,” he said. “If Angus is my son, the Raven Queen is your mom!” 

Kravitz sighed, shaking his head and smiling a little. “Weirdo,” he said. 

“Wait,” Taako said, his brow furrowing in concentration as they walked. “Is her name just the Raven Queen?”

“Well… Yes?” Kravitz said, confused. “That’s what she is.” 

“Well, yeah,” Taako said. “Duh. I mean, I’m the Greatest Wizard and Chef in Faerun and Fucking Savior of the Universe but that’s not my  _ name _ , even though I definitely considered changing it. What’s her name?”

“The Raven Queen,” Kravitz said simply. 

Taako smiled brightly. “That is actually the coolest name I’ve ever heard in my life,” Taako said. “We’re gonna be best friends.”

Kravitz laughed, squeezing Taako’s arm. “I love you,” he said. “I really, really love you.” 

“I know, babe,” Taako said, teasingly. He leaned against Kravitz’s arm, humming softly as they finally approached the door of the Fortress of Memory. 

The double doors were tall and made of a solid black wood that was almost shining even in the dull light of the astral plane. There was a wrought iron knocker in the center of each door in the shape of a raven holding the ring in its beak. The ravens were iron but their eyes seemed to follow the motion of the pair standing in front of them. Taako eyed it suspiciously, unwilling or unable to make the first move. 

“So, how do we get in?” Taako asked. 

“I mean, we just open the door,” Kravitz said. “There’s no secret password or anything. It’s just a door. We just knock and go in.”

“There’s no traps?” Taako said, suspiciously squinting at the thick wooden doors. He leaned to one side and then the other, watching the eyes of the steel, otherwise motionless ravens follow him.

“No traps,” Kravitz confirmed. He reached forward and grasped the steel knocker with one hand. “Kravitz,” he told the knocker, “and I brought Taako.” Kravitz pulled his hand back slightly, still holding the steel ring, and rapped it against the door three times in quick succession. 

As soon as Kravitz released the door knocker, the ring melted into the mouth of the raven. The bird’s steel feathers and beady eyes were not steel anymore because the raven wasn’t a door knocker - it was a real raven with its head jammed through the door. The raven opened its mouth and squawked, scaring the shit out of Taako who scrambled backwards. Shaking its head, the raven pulled back out of the door and flew off into the castle with a ruffle of feathers. There was a hole in the dark wood only for a second before it closed up over where the raven had been moments before. After everything that had happened in the span of a few seconds, the door swung open a crack.

“Holy shit,” Taako said, one hand over his heart and grasping at the fabric. “Holy  _ shit. _ You didn’t tell me that was going to happen.”

Smiling, Kravitz swept forward and held the heavy wooden door open for Taako. “You asked if there were traps,” he said. “That’s not a trap. It’s more like… An alarm system. Whichever knocker you use goes off and tells the Raven Queen someone’s at the door. And if she doesn’t want you here, then…” Kravitz shrugged. “Let’s just say whoever the intruder would be is going to be staying in the astral plane for a lot longer than they anticipated.”

Taako laughed at that, following Kravitz into the dark and imposing castle and letting the door swing shut behind them. “I can admire a goddess with a flare for the dramatic,” he said. He held his arm out again, offering it to Kravitz. Kravitz took Taako’s arm, leading him deeper into the castle. The halls were wide, walls stretching upward with large stone blocks. The stone walls weren’t bare but peppered periodically with what looked like deep wooden frames with glass fronts. The frames varied in size, some even featuring small shelves, but one thing they had in common was their contents. Each of them displayed a myriad of different objects, some a little larger than others but all relatively small. There were a lot of different shapes and sizes and colors of pebbles. There were bits of string and dried leaves of interesting shapes and colors. There was what looked like a piece of steel broken off of the tip of a sword in one of the display cases and a torn section of leather with half a crest emblazoned on it in the other. There was a hat that might’ve fit a gnome, a silver coin, and an Olive Garden gift card in still another. Spaced between the display cases intermittently were oil lamps flickering dimly. 

“A lot of ravens do bring back gifts for the Raven Queen,” Kravitz explained. “It took us forever to figure out what to do with all of them until we came up with this.” 

“It’s kinda cool,” Taako said, pausing in front of and scrutinizing one of the display cases containing a few objects, notably a small carved wooden duck and pages that seemed to be torn out of a book written in a very old language. 

“They are pretty cool,” Kravitz said, continuing their trek through the winding halls after Taako had his fill of looking at the ravens’ collection. A few moments later, another very tall, thick wooden door was in front of them with iron hinges and trim like the front doors, minus the raven knockers. 

“This is the conference room,” Kravitz explained. “The throne room is for intimidating prisoners and bounties, et cetera. Formalities. But I think you’re past that and I’m  _ definitely  _ past that. And she didn’t send a raven to tell me not to so…” He shrugged. “I’m just going to do it anyway.”

“Ooh, rebel,” Taako teased as Kravitz reached for the door handle and pulled it open. 

The pair entered into a large, high-ceilinged room constructed of the same stone that hall they had just left was. Windows were equally spaced out on the wall to their right, overlooking the sea nearby. In the center of the room was a long, slick black table. There were four high-backed, ornate chairs around the table, one in the center of each of the long sides and one at each head. Taako assumed that was where they did their business. It seemed really impersonal but very dramatic. Taako liked that. There were also ravens fluttering about the room, going in and out of open doorways opposite them and on the left wall and the windows on the right. 

At the far end of the room, standing to the side of the chair, was a tall woman, maybe 8 feet tall, with wings and a mask. Her mask was a massive raven’s skull. Her eyes were a dark red visible through the raven’s eye sockets and her skin was the same color as Kravitz’s. The pure white bone was so close to her skin that Taako was of the opinion that it wasn’t a mask at all and it was part of her. Her lacey dress was high-necked, too, and black so dark it was almost purple and blue. Her sleeves gave the illusion of a second pair of wings because there was a first pair of wings, solid and powerful, sprouting from between her shoulder blades. They were partially folded in. Her entire demeanor, the decor, and the cloud of ravens fluttering around her gave her a very imposing air. It was very, very dramatic. Taako liked her already. 

Her arm was stretched above her head, her palm flat, and there was a raven perched on it. Taako did not notice anything interesting about the raven but Kravitz, who knew all of them well, would’ve recognized it as the raven door knocker. The raven opened its beak, squawked at her, and then flapped its wings and soared away. At the call of the raven, the goddess looked up. She smiled upon seeing Kravitz and Taako standing in the doorway. 

“Come in, come in,” she said, waving them closer. Her voice was strong and booming and if Taako was anyone else, he was sure that he would’ve been a little intimidated. Kravitz smiled, stepping forward with Taako still on his arm. 

“My lady,” he said, dipping his head in a respectful gesture. “Would you mind an audience?” he asked. “I’ve brought my…” Kravitz tapered off, glancing at Taako who was watching the interactions between the Raven Queen and his boyfriend. “...Taako?” Kravitz said finally. 

“Your Taako,” Taako teased, elbowing him in the side and smiling. 

Kravitz blushed slightly. “It seems weird to call you my boyfriend in front of my lady,” he said softly in Taako’s direction. 

“I know, babe,” Taako said. “And I love it anyway.” 

Kravitz shook his head slightly, looking back up at the Raven Queen. Although she imposed a very intimidating silhouette, she was grinning. “Of course, Kravitz,” she said, her voice again filling the room. “Come sit,” she said. “Sit and we’ll talk.” 

She turned towards the chair at the head of the table next to her, the skirt of her dress catching air again very dramatically. She smoothed her skirt as she sat down, stretching her wings out before folding them in flat against her back. Kravitz led Taako by the arm towards the head of the table. “I’m gonna sit,” Taako said, bypassing the chair in the center of the long side of the table. He leaned against the slick black table, his hands braced on it, and boosted himself up, swinging his legs slightly. Kravitz opted to stand close by Taako, between him and the Raven Queen. 

“It’s my pleasure to finally meet you, Taako,” the Raven Queen said, her eyes piercing him through the sockets of the skull. “Although I’ve heard much about you.” 

“I can say the same,” Taako said. “Krav talks about you. I kept telling him if we’re going steady I want to meet his mom.” 

Kravitz was blushing again, a lot, by the time Taako was done speaking. “Taako,” he said. “She’s not-”

The Raven Queen cut Kravitz off with a wave of her hand. “Come on, Kravitz,” she said. “We’ve known each other for a few millennium now. I’d say we’re there. We’re at that point in our relationship.”

Taako laughed. “Can I high-five you?” he asked. “I really want to high-five you.”

“You might explode,” the Raven Queen said.

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Taako said, holding his hand up. The Raven Queen laughed again, lifting his hand up and air-high-fiving him back. Taako nodded proudly. “Wait,” he said. “Kravitz, can you-“

“I can touch the Raven Queen without exploding,” Kravitz said. “It would be kind of a hindrance to my work if I couldn’t.”

“Do it for me, babe,” Taako said. “Please. Do it for me. Do it. Do it. High-five her.” Taako started poking Kravitz in the shoulder. Almost a little nervously and definitely a little sheepishly, Kravitz looked up at the Raven Queen. The goddess of death was sitting in the chair, leaning forward a little with her hand out.

“Kravitz,” she said. “Kravitz, come on.”

Kravitz looked at her and then back at Taako and then at the Raven Queen again before he finally shrugged and high-fived her. “Well,” he said. “I can honestly say I’ve never done that.”

“And now, because you know me, you have,” Taako said. 

The Raven Queen laughed, leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs. “Yes, you have,” she said. “Now, what brings you both to the Fortress of Memory?”

“We kind of… Did something,” Kravitz said. “And I didn’t really think it was possible. So I kinda thought we should… Run it by you and figure out what’s going on.” 

“What Kravitz is trying to say is he knocked me up real good,” Taako said, pointing to his stomach. He was much quicker to get to the point than his boyfriend. “I call them the taquitos, ‘cause they’re mini Taakos.”

“Well, I was trying not to say it like that!” Kravitz protested, blushing nervously again as he looked between Taako and the Raven Queen. Taako liked how this was going. He had a residual high-five from a goddess and he got to see his boyfriend blush which was adorable. 

The Raven Queen, notably, did not seem particularly scandalized or even surprised by the revelation. “Well, yeah,” she said. “I know.”

“You  _ know _ ?” Kravitz said, shocked, and to be honest, Taako was a little surprised, too. “ _ How _ ?”

“My brother told me,” the Raven Queen said simply.

“Your brother,” Taako repeated. “Who the hell is that?” 

“His name is Lathander,” the Raven Queen explained. “He’s the god of life. The Scarab King. He is connected to and a part of all life. At the moment that your lives were started” - she gestured to Taako with this - “he was aware of it. He was also able to tell those lives were created by someone from my domain.” 

“Hold on a second,” Taako said. “So your brother, literally the god of life, was aware of the  _ exact moment  _ that Kravitz and I boned?”

The Raven Queen nodded. “Pretty much,” she said. Kravitz sighed deeply, covering his face with one hand. 

“He told me that he was sending you a dream,” the Raven Queen told Taako.

“A dream,” Taako said. “Shit, did I-” Realization dawned on him and he stopped speaking. He grasped at the vestiges of a dream, something about planting a garden in the rain and digging up scarabs. He opened his mouth to say something, couldn’t decide what he wanted to say, and closed it again. He crossed his arms over his chest, huffing slightly. “Well, he could’ve given me something a little clearer than  _ that.” _

“That’s my brother for you,” the Raven Queen said. “A lot of symbolism and over complication. I just throw in a raven and everyone knows it’s me.”

Taako sighed deeply again. So the pregnancy wasn’t news to the Raven Queen. That was fair enough. But what he still didn’t understand was how. Luckily, Kravitz was taking the reins on that one. 

“So you already knew,” Kravitz said. “But… How? My lady, I’m dead. I’m a Reaper and my form is literally a skeleton. How did I-“

“Make babies?” Taako offered. 

“Yeah,” Kravitz said. “Make babies. I am, and you know this but I can’t stress it enough, dead.”

“But you aren’t,” the Raven Queen said.

“I’m sorry, what?” Kravitz said. Taako, still seated on the table, frowned. 

“You aren’t dead,” the Raven Queen reiterated. “Well, you sort of are, but you also aren’t.” 

“Hold on,” Taako said. “I might be a dumb bitch, but I’m pretty sure even smart people would have a problem with that. You can’t be  _ dead  _ and  _ not dead  _ at the same time. Those two things don’t mesh.”

“I’m trying to think of a way to explain this that you’ll understand,” the Raven Queen said. “Kravitz, do you remember when I brought you into my care? Made you my reaper?”

Kravitz stopped, his brow furrowing. “It’s been awhile,” he said. “But I was… Human. It was necromancers. They killed me.”

(Taako felt something twist deep in his chest at the mention of Kravitz dying. Something primal. Some sort of fear he’d only felt a variation of worth Lup. Something he never wanted to feel again.)

“You  _ were _ human,” the Raven Queen said, emphasizing the word were. “At the moment you died, the exact moment, I took you under my wing. Literally and figuratively. I made you something else, Kravitz. Something not human anymore. Something close to a god.”

“A god,” Kravitz said, dumbfounded. Taako, once he’d gotten over that awful, sickening feeling in his chest, was watching this like a soap opera. 

“A god,” the Raven Queen agreed. “Your relationship with mortality is a lot like ours. You aren’t alive, not in the way humans and elves and things are alive. But you aren’t dead either, do you see? Even gods and almost-gods can be killed. But we exist outside of the normal way of things. And even gods…” The Raven Queen gestured to Taako again, a soft smile on her face. “Even gods can have children. In fact, I’m fairly sure Reggie has a few running around.” 

Kravitz was struck into silence with the revelation that he was, essentially, a god. Taako, on the other hand, was very pleased. “Kravitz is a god,” he said delightedly. “A god makes me breakfast! I literally bullied a god into taking me dress shopping!”

It was Taako’s voice, he noticed, that enticed the reaper back into the conversation. The last comment made him break into a slight smile. “Yeah,” he said. “I guess you did.” Kravitz shifted his gaze back to the Raven Queen. 

“With all due respect, ma’am,” he said, “why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

“Honestly, Krav, I thought you knew,” she said, laughing. 

Taako grinned, too, leaning over to elbow his boyfriend in the side. “Only Kravitz could not realize for a few thousand years that he’s  _ actually a fucking god.” _

As soon as he’d spoken, Taako stopped, grin widening. “I fucked a god! A god licked my-“ 

Kravitz stopped Taako with a wave of his hand and bright red cheeks. “Taako,” he said. “Please not in front of my mom.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve long been fascinated by Kravitz and what he actually is, so this is my take on that. Also, Kravitz was killed (ie sacrificed) by some nwcromancers... and we met two necromancers in canon... So yes in my universe Edward and Lydia killed him
> 
> And finally... we see more Angus... He’s definitely playing a big part in the next chapter because he’s my sweet little magic boy and I love him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angus McDonald is the best boy. Taako finally gets a surname.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drumroll, please... And here re-enters Angus McDonald, the World's Greatest Detective

Kravitz was a god, which was hilarious and fantastic, but it didn’t make the world stop turning. Kravitz still worked. The taquitos still grew. Angus still went to school and Taako still walked him home. 

Angus had assured Taako many times that he was a big boy, the world’s greatest detective, and that he could walk himself home. Every time, Taako said yeah, he knew, and he showed up anyway. It was a nice part of his daily routine. No matter how busy he was with Taako’s Amazing School of Magic or smooching his boyfriend or working in the kitchen, he was always standing outside of the school when Angus was done for the day. It was Lucas’ school, which he didn’t super love, but Angus was having a good time and he was learning a lot. He was happy doing what he was doing so Taako was happy, too. 

And it wasn’t like he never saw Angus. He saw his kid a lot. They lived together, after all, and they had their daily walks. They’d even kept up with their magic lessons. Sometimes when Taako spent some time at his own school, Angus would come with him, sitting in on classes or sometimes offering a guest lecture. While Angus had much to go in terms of magic, he was a very bright kid. He was the world’s best detective, after all. But no matter how often he saw Angus, Taako was going to be there to walk him home from school. 

Even if he felt like shit. 

“I feel like shit,” Taako said. He was sitting on the ground, his back against his and Kravitz’s large bed, and there was a bucket between his legs that he was repeatedly throwing up into. Even after he’d thrown up, he was very aware of the fact that his bucket was brushing against the swell of his stomach, because there was a swell to his stomach. He was getting a little bigger because the twins inside him were growing larger, too. It was feeling very real. 

“I know, I know,” Kravitz said. He was fluttering around the bedroom nervously, unsure of what to do to make Taako feel better. “Can I get you something? Water, maybe? Or Merle? I can call Merle. I can go get him, actually. He should be able to give you something or do some spell. Should I do that? I’m gonna do that.” Kravitz reached towards the wall where his scythe was leaning against and was already slinging open the rift before Taako spoke again. 

“Babe, calm down,” Taako said, waving one hand weakly in his direction. “It’s gonna be okay. I’m fine. I talked to him already. Half-elf pregnancies last longer than human ones, so the morning sickness is going to last longer, too. It’s super gross and I’m not at all happy about puking all the time, but it’s normal. I’m not dying and you don’t need to go calling in the cavalry for this.” 

Kravitz relaxed slightly, letting his scythe fall gently back to the ground. He hadn’t quite let it go yet, still holding its handle and drumming his fingers against it. “Are you sure?” he asked. “Are you really sure you’re okay?” 

“ _ Yes,  _ Krav,” Taako said. “Come sit with me.” He patted the ground next to him, setting the bucket aside. He waved his hand to cast the very simple clean up spell as Kravitz leaned his scythe against the wall and lowered himself down next to Taako. Taako shifted to the side, his head on Kravitz’s shoulder. Kravitz used to be so cold to the touch, but he was warmer now. But no matter what temperature he was, he was warm to Taako. Taako took Kravitz’s hand, gently rubbing his thumb in circles on the back of it. It was to soothe himself just as much as it was to calm Kravitz down.

Taako wasn’t one for quiet because he loved the sound of his own voice, but he let the air around them be quiet for a few moments. Just enough to gather his thoughts, enough for Kravitz to relax. “This is kinda weird, isn’t it?” Taako said.

“Yeah,” Kravitz echoed. “It’s pretty weird. I’ve never done this before.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I haven’t, either,” Taako said. 

Kravitz laughed softly. He paused for a few beats before he spoke again. “I’m sorry if I’m being a little…” He tapered off, searching for the right words. “Frazzled. I just want to know you’re being taken care of. I want you to be okay.”

“That’s super sweet and I admire you for that,” Taako said, squeezed Kravitz’ hand. “You’re taking care of me super well, babe. This is just how it’s gonna be - a little gross for awhile. I’m okay. And if I’m not, you’ll be the first person to know. Promise.”

Kravitz exhaled softly and even through their linked hands, Taako could feel some of the tension melt out of his shoulders. “Okay,” Kravitz said. “Okay.”

“Yeah, okay,” Taako said. “I promise it’ll be okay.”

Kravitz nodded slightly, letting himself relax just a little more. “I’m a reaper,” he commented. “My whole schtick is death. I’ve never really… You know…”

“Made life?” Taako offered. 

“Yeah,” Kravitz said. “Exactly. I’m worried I’m not cut out for this. That I’m going to fuck it up.”

Taako sighed softly, straightening up and gesturing for Kravitz to lean against him this time. The reaper did as he was instructed, his larger form curled up against Taako’s smaller one, his legs bent off to the side. (But it didn’t look awkward at all. It looked like Kravitz belonged there, because he did.) Taako draped an arm over Kravitz’s shoulders, his head now resting against his boyfriend’s. 

“You’re not going to fuck it up,” Taako said firmly. “Kravitz, you’re my boyfriend and you’re also - don’t tell Istus or any of the others I said this ‘cause they might get mad - but probably the best god  _ ever _ . I would literally die for you, and you can’t even die. You’ve taken care of me  _ so well,  _ and everyone knows that when I get to bitching, I’m basically a baby. You’re going to be so good at being a dad, Kravitz. You’re going to be the best dad. And you better than anyone know that I’m always right, so I’m definitely right about this.”

Kravitz smiled softly. “You really think so?” he asked quietly. 

“I know so,” Taako said firmly. “I know so. You’re going to be fucking amazing.” 

Kravitz let out a puff of air and he was fully relaxed then. Taako could feel it. He tilted his head slightly to kiss his boyfriend on the top of the head. “I love you, Krav,” he said. “More than I love me.”

“No way,” Kravitz said, most of his nerves appeased for the moment and least and his wits about him enough to start joking again. “More than you love  _ you _ ?”

“I know, shocking,” Taako said. “But it’s the truth. And I love them just the same and I know you will, too.”

“Of course,” Kravitz said. “I love you.”

“I know,” Taako said, kissing him on the top of the head again. “I know. Now, what time is it?”

Taako answered his own question, leaning over Kravitz to peek through the window. “Ah, shit,” he said. The sun had reached its peak and was starting to lower again. “I gotta go get Angus.” He nudged Kravitz, who sat up and frowned.

“I can walk him home if you’re not feeling well,” he said. 

“Nah, I got it handled,” Taako said. “It’s our thing, you know. Be shitty of me to bow out.”

Kravitz rose to his feet, holding a hand out to Taako. Taako took it, letting Kravitz pull him up to his feet. He winced slightly, turning his head to pop his neck and twisting to pop his back. “Oh, fuck, that’s good,” Taako said, sighing contentedly. “You gonna be good here?” 

“Me?” Kravitz laughed a little, shaking his head. “I’m fine. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m okay,” Taako assured him. “I can do it. I’m pretty sure I’m done puking for today anyway.” 

Kravitz fluttered around a bit, leaving the room and returning a moment or two later. He was carrying Taako’s boots in one hand and his hat in the other. He held them out to Taako.

“Thanks, babe,” he said. Taako sat on the edge of the bed, pulling the boots on before situating his tall, pointed, awesome hat on his head. “Can you hand me my vest?” he asked. 

Kravitz started towards the closet. “Which one?” he asked. “The black one?” 

“Yeah,” Taako said. “The black, flowy one with stars on the inside.” 

Kravitz rifled through the closet for a few moments before turning around with the vest in hand. “Thanks, babe,” Taako said, shrugging it on. He was wearing a white blouse with puffy sleeves that ended at his elbows and gray leggings and now a long, loose black vest that fluttered past his knees and had a pattern of multi-colored stars on the inner lining. Even when he was just picking up Angus from school, Taako was always,  _ always _ dressed to the nines.

“I’ll see you soon,” he said, leaning up on his toes to press a kiss to Kravitz’s lips.

“If I’m not here when you get back, don’t panic,” Kravitz said. “I’ve been expecting a summons from the Raven Queen.”

“You mean Mom,” Taako said. 

“Yeah, sure,” Kravitz said.

“Oh, don’t forget to invite her to Angus’ championship soccer game in a couple months,” Taako said. “I know gods have weird concepts of time.”

“I’ll remind her,” Kravitz promised. He smiled softly, tucking a lock of Taako’s pale hair back into his hat. “I love you,” he said. 

“You, too, babe,” Taako said. “I’ll see ya.”

He waved once as he sashayed out of the room and towards the front of the house. Next to the door was his umbrella, so he scooped that up, swinging the handle around his wrist as he headed out the door. 

The house that Taako, Kravitz, and Angus shared was settled on the outskirts of Neverwinter, close enough to get to with a relatively short walk but far enough away to feel a little private. There was a smattering of trees in the back behind the large, grand house (because it had to be grand, Taako From TV lived there) that grew a little thicker as they went, forming the small forest that edged the west side of Neverwinter. Taako headed out east, towards the city proper where the main campuses of both his and Miller’s schools were. 

He made short work of the walk, thinking since he didn’t have much else to do. He was thinking about everything Kravitz had said and everything he had said in return. He was thinking about Angus, too, his sweet, perfect little magic boy, and how he hadn’t exactly told him yet about the taquitos. Taako was lucky that he’d taken the exact same walk countless times because he was so in his own head that he wasn’t even entirely aware of his surroundings until he had reached the city, his feet moving of their own accord. He shook his head, bringing himself back into the present as the sounds of the city filled his ears.

Neverwinter had been properly rebuilt by then, brand-new buildings that you could almost still smell the varnish on mixed in with a few older establishments that had managed to survive the Hunger’s devastation. But it was still the city of progress and the jewel of the north, so most of the buildings were made of polished stone and concrete and even metals that glinted in the sun. In the town square, Taako’s favorite tailor was situated across the square from a building almost as tall as the Goldcliff Trust, with walls made almost entirely of glass. But past the square and past the glass building, closer to the east edge of Neverwinter was the campus of Lucas Miller’s school. 

Taako knew it well. He’d waited here almost every day for Angus to be done with school, after all. It was a large building, long and tall. Instead of being constructed of brick and wood, it was stone, solid and imposing. There was even a bell tower at the top, a shiny silver bell hung inside. There was a steel archway in front of the building with the name of Lucas’ school on it. Surrounding the archway was a fence that stretched around the perimeter, reaching back farther than Taako could see. He knew what was back there, though. He wouldn’t let his Angus go just anywhere that he hadn’t checked out. 

Under the steel archway, the front lawn of the school was peppered with people. Taako craned his neck as he entered, scanning to make sure Angus wasn’t already out there. Luckily, he wasn’t. Taako opted to lean against the fence to his right, examining his nails closely with the handle of his umbrella hooked over one wrist and the sole of one boot against the steel post. He knew the main courtyard was sprinkled was some of the younger kids running around and playing, casting prestidigitation and shooting sparks at each other. There was a fountain situated just in front of the front doors and he could definitely hear someone splashing around in it. There were some older kids, too, reading from books or heading out the gate towards their homes. Elves, humans, orcs, half-orcs, halflings, and dwarves made up the assembled students. Although Taako was partial to his own school, he had to admit that Miller’s school was kind of nice. 

He had been picking dirt from under his nails and pushing his cuticles back for a few moments when he heard a feminine voice speak up in front of him. “You’re one of Angus’ dads, right?” she said. “Mr. McDonald?”

On instinct and without a moment’s delay, Taako said, “Nope.” 

“”Ms. McDonald?” the voice said, sounding a bit more confused than she had a moment before. 

“Try again,” Taako said, again without really thinking. It was then that he finally looked up. The woman in front of him was dragonborn, but a lot taller and broader than Carrey. Her scales were a rich, dark scarlet and her eyes yellow, wearing a pair of round glasses perched on her nose with a collared shirt, tie, and a pair of shorts. Taako recognized her then. She was one of the teachers Lucas had hired to teach at the school but he couldn’t remember exactly what it was she taught. 

After a beat of pause in which the dragonborn woman frowned, she finally spoke again. “...Your highness, Taako McDonald?” 

He laughed out loud at that, dropping his foot from where he was resting against the post and instead leaning against his umbrella now, one leg bent. “Now, that one I can get used to,” Taako said. “I’m just joshing you. It’s Taako, yeah. Angus is my boy.” He smiled a little then. Taako McDonald… He and Lup had never had surnames of their own. She had Bluejeans now, and Taako… He liked the sound of Taako McDonald. Why not keep it? 

The dragonborn woman laughed. “My name’s Emily,” she said, holding out her hand to shake Taako’s. The elf took it, noting that she had very strong, calloused hands. “I’m a blacksmith. I do shop classes and shit like that here. Angus is in one of my classes. He’s a really smart kid.”

“You’re damn right he is,” Taako said proudly. “He’s the world’s greatest detective and probably the smartest kid at this entire school. And he saved the world, did you know that? We wouldn’t have been able to save the world without him.”

Emily laughed, shaking her head a little. “I don’t doubt that,” she said. “He’s sweet, too. Real polite. It’s always yes sir, yes ma’am, please and thanks. You did really well with him.”

“Ah, that’s mostly on him,” Taako said. “I didn’t meet him until he was 10. But I’m definitely going to let you shower me in praise for what I’ve done since then. Lay it on me.”

Emily laughed, her long tail twitching slightly. “You and your husband are pretty lucky to have him,” she said. “My partners and I have been thinking about having kids, and seeing some nice kids kinda makes me think it might not be that bad of an idea.”

“He’s fucking awesome,” Taako said, firmly. “And he’ll be the best big brother.”

“Big brother?” Emily questioned. “Are you adopting again?”

“Not this time,” he said. “The boyfriend and I made these two ourselves.”

Emily smiled brightly again. “Well, congratulations,” she said. As they watched, the main doors of the school opened and more kids were tumbling out. “Well, your Angus is probably there. I’ll leave you here. Nice talking to you, Your Highness.”

Taako laughed at that, following the Dragonborn with his eyes as she took up her place of watching some of the children play again. When she had stopped, Taako shifted his gaze to search the outgoing students for his boy. Even though he was growing like a weed, he was still short, so he was lucky Angus knew where to meet him. Sooner rather than later, Taako spotted the little boy at the top of the stairs, wearing his backpack and a cap on top of his curly hair. 

He spotted Taako and waved brightly before making his way down the stairs. Taako waved back, smiling faintly as Angus picked his way towards him. 

“How’s it going, kiddo?” he asked. “Good day at school?”

“All days at school are good days if you learn something new,” Angus chirped. 

Taako laughed, reaching down to pluck off Angus’ cap, ruffle his hair, and then place it back down. “Well, did you learn something?”

“I did,” Angus said proudly. “I learned some interesting facts that will help with my detecting and my magic.”

“Good boy,” Taako said. “You ready to roll, then?”

“Yes, sir,” Angus said. He adjusted the straps of his backpack, holding onto them as they made their way out of the gate. Angus started to follow the same path that Taako had taken to get there through the city but, struck by a sudden idea, Taako stopped.

“Hey, pumpkin,” he said. “You wanna have a magic day?”

Angus, from where he was walking a few paces in front Taako, stopped and turned. His face had lit up like a Candlenights bush. “A magic day?” he said brightly. “Here?” 

“Yeah,” Taako said. “There’s a really cool spell that I’ve been meaning to teach you.”

Beaming, Angus bounced over to Taako. Sometimes he didn’t get to be a kid, but when he was excited about learning a new spell he looked like he was cashing in in those childhood days he’d missed. “Magic day!” 

Taako couldn’t help but smile a little as he watched how happy Angus was to learn more magic. He really was the sweetest, greatest, best kid. “This one is kind of a transportation spell,” Taako said as they started walking towards the edge of the campus and a less populated part of the city. “But it also does lots of cool stuff. It’s probably one of the cooler, more flashy things I can do.” 

Angus nodded, eagerly listening as they walked. He was always very attentive whenever Taako was trying to show him something. It made being a teacher really easy when Taako wasn’t even sure a teacher was what he wanted to be. 

“So this one,” Taako said as they walked, “is a big one. It’s a third level spell.” 

“Whoa,” Angus said softly. “Do you think I’m powerful enough for a third level spell, sir?”

“Absolutely,” Taako said. “You’re pretty good at wizardly magicks for a little boy, after all.” 

“I think I am,” he said proudly. “So what spell am I going to learn today, sir?”

By that time, they were walking down a street of Neverwinter, the city proper on one side and flatlands growing less populated as they went on their other side. Taako, as much as he liked being dramatic, figured that Angus wouldn’t want to parade his new spell through the city for everyone to see, so they were going to be taking this one the long way around the outside of the city towards the west end where their home was. 

“It’s called phantom steed,” Taako said. “Kiddo, I think it’s time for you to meet Garyl.” 

Angus’ eyes widened. “Phantom steed?” he gasped. 

“Phantom steed,” Taako agreed. He raised his umbrella, uttered the incantation, and then in a puff of smoke and sparkles, a quasi-real, shimmering rainbow binicorn appeared beneath Taako.

“ _ Yo, _ ” the binicorn greeted. “ _ How’s it going, big man? Been awhile. _ ”

Taako patted Garyl on the neck, just underneath his mohawk-like mane. “No running yet, my guy,” he said. “This is a teaching session.”

_ “Aw, man,” _ Garyl whinnied. “ _ Come on…” _

Taako shifted his attention from the binicorn beneath him to the little boy standing beside him. “You caught that, right?” 

He definitely had because Angus was watching Taako, wide-eyed. He nodded empathetically at the question. 

“The key with phantom steed is focusing on what you want the thing to look like,” Taako explained from astride his own magnificent steed. “Quasi-real and horselike, that’s what you’re going for, pumpkin.”

Angus nodded exactly again, pulling his wand from his bag. It looked like a children’s toy, a rod with a yellow star on the end, but it was a lot more powerful than one. It was a bona fide magic wand that he’d purchased at Fantasy Costco, where all his dreams came true. Clutching his wand, he cast the spell and… A quasi-real, horselike creature did not appear. A ball of light with a hazy, smokey quality did, though. It looked like it was being stretched and pulled, however, like a sculptor was trying to pull legs and a head out of the light like it was clay. But it never settled on a creature and it disappeared with a nearly silent pop. 

Angus’ shoulders fell and he sighed slightly. “Hey, it’s okay, pumpkin,” Taako said. “Give it another go. You really, really have to focus on the shape you want it to take. Breathe in real deep and then cast the spell. And when you’re casting, breathe out. Imagine that your breath is creating your steed.”

Bobbing his head, Angus shifted his grip on his wand. He took a deep breath, recited the incantation, and breathed out. The smokey light seemed to form out of his air, condensing into that same ball of light from his first attempt. But instead of pulling and stretching and then disappearing, the light began to shape into something that resembled a horse and then, with a brighter flash, there was definitely a quasi-real horselike creature in front of them. 

The creature was the height of a pony but bright pink with a mane of very close rainbow curls and a matching tail. Like Garyl, Angus’ pony had two horns. But instead of being on his forehead, they were on the sides like ram’s horns, complete with a gentle curve. When he spoke, his voice was higher-pitched and melodic. 

“Hello, sirs!” he said brightly. “I’ve just been born!” 

“Hell yeah, Ango,” Taako said, sitting back on his own steed and grinning proudly. Angus beamed widely and threw his arms around his steed’s neck. The horse whinnied, bopping Angus with his nose.

The young detective pulled back slightly, still grinning up at Taako. “I did it, sir!” he said. “I did it!”

“Yeah, you did, kiddo,” Taako said. “Knew you could. What’s his name?”

Angus leaned back on his heels for a moment, thinking with one hand still threaded through the horse’s curly mane. “Darry,” he said. “Garry and Daryl but the other halves. Because you and Garyl taught me this spell.”

Taako let out a laugh. “Darry,” he said. “I love it. What do you think, Garyl?” he asked his horse.

Garyl huffed, whinnying perfectly tonally. “He’s alright,” he said, seeming a bit indignant.

Still smiling, Taako looked up at Angus again. “Up you get, kid,” he said. “Let’s take these two home:” 

Angus nodded excitedly. He hadn’t given Darry any bridle or saddle so he was going to have to ride bareback. Darry knelt down, allowing Angus to swing up on his back. It wasn’t like riding a real horse because Darry and Garyl weren’t real horses. They were quasi-real, horse-like creatures who essentially did their thing with someone on top. 

“Let’s go, dude,” Taako said, tapping Garyl with his heels and turning him slightly. 

“Anything for you, my guy,” Garyl said, starting to walk in the direction of home.

Taako could hear Angus talking to his horse and a few moments later, Angus was riding beside him, still beaming like the sun. It was… Well, if he was being sappy, Taako would say that seeing Angus that happy made him that happy. It made him feel proud and fulfilled and just  _ happy.  _ Angus was his world and when his world was shining like the sun, so would Taako be. And his world, in terms of children, was found to be expanding a little more.

Taako didn’t realize he had been so lost in thought until he was brought out of it by Garyl snorting beneath him and breaking into a trot. He turned slightly, seeing Angus still riding beside him. Affection bubbled up in his chest again and then he felt really badly for not having talked to Angus about the taquitos yet. And what better time was there than the present? 

“Hey, Ango,” Taako said.

“Yes, sir?” Angus asked, looking up from where his eyes were fixed in front of him and between Darry’s horns. 

“I’m pregnant,” he said. “Kravitz and I are. Twins.” 

“Oh,” Angus said, and then suddenly, as something dawned on him, “Oh! Congratulations, sir. Sirs. That’s… Good. That’s good. I’m happy for you both. Congratulations.” Angus immediately turned his eyes back towards the trail and, without any urging from Angus, Darry sped up for a few paces and then dropped back to trotting speed in front of Taako and Garyl. His face had paled and Angus had looked… Upset. 

“Huh,” Taako said, and then he thought,  _ that was weird.  _ It wasn’t like Angus to act like that, to be so curt and then stumble over his words and repeat things. But he’d done all of that and what prompted it was Taako bringing up the taquitos. Did Angus have something against kids? Surely he wasn’t. And he was great with younger kids all the times he’d seen the boy interact with them. So that couldn’t be it. Maybe he was just used to the way things were with himself, Taako, Kravitz, Barry, and Lup and he was afraid of things changing. That would make sense. Taako was terrified of change, too. Taako clicked his tongue again, prodding Garyl to speed up a little more. He needed to get more out of his magic boy than he was getting.

“So, kiddo,” Taako said. “What did you learn about in school today?”

Angus shrugged slightly, running a lock of Darry’s curls between his fingers while they rode. “I had shop class with Miss Emily today,” Angus said. He seemed to brighten up a little bit talking about his studies. “We’re learning how to construct different mechanical artifacts that will aid and enhance both magicks and sciences.” 

“Well, that seems dope as shit,” Taako said. It didn’t really seem like something that would be up his alley, he was more into casting magic solely from his wand and making only food, but he whole-heartedly supported anything that Angus was doing. And he was sure Angus was great at it. “You have fun?” he asked

“Mmhm,” Angus said. 

Taako frowned again. Usually Angus would go on at least a little long. But Taako could prod. He liked to keep his secrets, but he was also really good at prodding.

“You play any soccer today?” Taako asked. 

“A little,” Angus said. “I ran some drills with Kevin during lunch.” Taako scratched his brain for just a moment before he pictured a tall, beefy half-orc boy in a soccer jersey he’d seen at the last game. 

“Oh,” he said. “Yeah, Kevin. Glad you got some reps in. When’s your next practice?”

“Tomorrow,” Angus said. 

“Noice,” Taako said. They had a schedule hanging up in the kitchen but Taako figured he’d ask just to make conversation. It worked for just a moment. “Well, you’re gonna kick ass next weekend, anyway,” Taako commented. He didn’t even pretend that he didn’t know when the next game was because it seemed that option had not worked at all.

The ride back to their house would’ve been very nice and peaceful if Taako had been able to shake the thought that he’d fucked up really bad. Something he’d said upset Angus and he wasn’t getting anything out of the little magic boy no matter what he said. They talked a little more, nonsense small talk, but whenever he got Angus to talk it seemed awkward and forced. He wasn’t as open to chatting happily about what he’d been doing at school that day which was even more odd considering how happy he’d been to learn the new spell a few minutes ago. So, Taako decided he wasn’t going to force it anymore. He didn’t want to make Angus even more uncomfortable than he was.

Eventually, the naturally occurring sparse conversation and the quiet ride on their phantom steeds led the pair back towards their residence. “Alright,” Taako said. One hand braced on Garyl’s neck, he swung a leg over the binicorn’s back and landed on the ground. “You know how to dispel a spell, right? Phantom steed lasts an hour or until you want to get rid of it.”

“Yes, sir,” Angus said. “I remember. I’ve done it to my mage hand a few times.” Angus said something to his own little binicorn that Taako couldn’t hear and then swung off of him. The little boy waved his hand and with a whinny, Darry disappeared. Taako did the same, giving Garyl one last find pat before he evaporated. 

“You did real good, kid,” Taako said. “I’m proud of you.”

Angus’ expression softened a little and he looked quite proud. He looked a lot more like the Angus that Taako knew and loved. “Thank you, sir,” he said. “I did my best. Thank you for showing me that spell. It’s a very good spell.”

“That it is, my boy,” Taako said. “That it is. Super useful and very, very cool.” 

For some reason, Angus seemed to deflate when Taako called him  _ my boy _ . Taako noted that and tucked the information away. “I’m going to go do my homework,” Angus announced. 

“Go for it,” Taako said. “I’ll call ya down when dinner’s ready. Any requests?” 

Angus shook his head. “Anything will be fine, sir.” 

Taako hummed and nodded again. “Okay, cool. See ya in a bit, Agnes.” 

Angus nodded again, then disappeared into the house and up the stairs. 

“Huh,” Taako said when he was alone again. “That was weird.” He shrugged again anyway, making his way back into the house. Kravitz was there waiting for him, lingering in the doorway to the kitchen. 

“I thought I heard Angus come up,” he said. “Must’ve missed him.”

“He went up to his room to do homework,” Taako said, already starting to open cabinets and shuffle through them to find what he needed to make dinner. “He was being weird on the ride back.”

Kravitz frowned, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms as he watched Taako bustle around the kitchen. “Weird how?” 

“I told him about the taquitos,” Taako said. 

“Oh,” Kravitz said. “ _ Oh.  _ How did that go?” 

Taako shrugged. “That’s the thing,” he said. “I don’t actually know. He got all stammer-y and upset and then kinda shut down. I couldn’t get him to talk much on the way back.”

“Huh,” Kravitz said. “That’s not like him.” 

“I know,” Taako said. He dropped a pot on the stove, flicked his fingers, and lit a fire underneath it. He turned away from it, starting to gather ingredients for his stew. The recipe is in his cookbook but he didn’t need to get the book out. He had all of the recipes committed to memory. He’d written them, after all. And he knew Angus liked it. 

“I did talk to one of Angus’ teachers, though,” Taako said as he started to slice up vegetables. Kravitz came up beside him, falling immediately in sync with Taako and starting to wash a tomato. “And, good news, I have a last name now.”

“You do?” Kravitz asked. “What is it?”

“McDonald,” Taako said. “His shop teacher called me Ms. McDonald and I said, huh, I like that.”

Kravitz smiles, nudging Taako with his shoulder. “It suits you,” he said. “I like it. Might take it someday.”

Taako laughed out loud while he continued to deftly work with his knife. “Is that a proposal, bone daddy?”

“It’s a pre-proposal,” Kravitz said. “It’s a preliminary pick-up line.” 

Grinning, Taako elbowed his boyfriend who dropped a piece of celery. “You can take my last name,” he said. “Hell, there’s no taking. I’m freely giving it to you. But I do have standards and I expect a truly grand proposal.” 

“Of course you do,” Kravitz said. He picked up the stalk of celery, sitting it aside before going back to his task. 

Taako didn’t cool with many people. In the  _ Sizzle It Up  _ days, he let no one in the kitchen with him. But way back when, as he and Lup were growing up, they cooked together very well. At the start of their hundred year long journey on the Starblaster, Taako was protective of his kitchen. Only he and Lup were allowed inside. But gradually, some of the others filtered through his ranks and helped him work. He grew used to that. And now, he was getting used to it again. Kravitz was a very, very good partner. They moved fluidly and easily with each other, like a dance, and Taako felt at home while they cooked.

Eventually the meal was ready. Taako stirred the stew slowly a few more times. “Call Angus down,” he said, peering into the pot. “Is it jus ‘it’s today?” 

“Mmhm,” Kravitz said, crossing towards the stairs and drying his hands on a towel he held as he went. “Barry and Lup are out.”

“Working or sexing?” Taako asked as he started to dish the stew out into bowls. They were his good bowls, nice clay ones that Kravitz had made. After their date at the wine and pottery place, he’d taken a shine to the art. He did a lot of pottery in his free time and they even had a room in the home dedicated to a pottery wheel. 

“I really hope it’s working,” Kravitz said, “because that’s what they told me.”

He disappeared from the kitchen at that, presumably up the stairs to fetch Angus. Taako easily balanced all three bowls in his hands, placing one carefully at each place at the table. He turned back to his kitchen drawers, fishing out spoons for the three of them from the one he kept his cutlery in. He was finishing getting the table ready, with glasses and the water pitcher waiting in the center, when Kravitz reappeared in the doorway.

The reaper tossed the hand towel onto the counter before heading towards his seat and a few paces and a few moments behind him was Angus. He acted like he was going for the cupboard to collect glasses but Taako stopped him by gesturing to the table. “Got ‘em,” he said.

Angus nodded, taking his seat. “Thank you for dinner, sir,” he said. 

“Any time, kiddo,” Taako said. He sat down, too, and then the three of them were together, slurping their stew. 

Their conversation was fairly mundane dinner-table-talk. Kravitz mentioned things about work, Taako told a hilarious story about something dumb Kravitz had done; Angus mentioned quietly something that had happened at school… It was all very normal until Angus stood up. He crossed back towards the stove where the pot of stew was still waiting and on the way, he dropped his bowl.

“Oh, shit,” Taako said, flinching slightly. He saw Kravitz across from him make the same motion before peering around Taako to try and find Angus. “Angus, are you-“ Taako stopped abruptly when he realized Angus was standing in the kitchen, his hands empty, and he was crying. 

“Oh, baby,” Taako said. He immediately stood up, crossing towards Angus in fewer strides than he should’ve been able to make and Kravitz was on his tail. He waved his hand, the remnants of the stew disappearing, and expertly shoved away the shards of pottery so he could drop to his knees in front of Angus. “Angus. Angus, pumpkin, did it cut you? Are you hurt? Are you okay?”

Kravitz had dropped down next to Taako, his hand hovering near Angus’ shoulder, his brows knitted together worriedly. Angus’ breathing hitched and he shook his head, crying harder. His shoulders were trembling and his hands were fluttering around weakly like he was trying to say something but his words were failing him. He hiccuped before stammering, “S-s-Sorry,” and then he was unintelligible.

“Hey, Angus… Angus, it’s okay,” Taako said. He reached up, pulling the little boy into his arms and down to the ground. He let Angus cry against his chest, sobbing like a toddler. “You have to tell me what hurts, baby,” Taako said, but Angus, his face buried in Taako’s flowy tunic, just shook his head.

Kravitz shifted closer to them on the ground, one of his large hands on Angus’ back and rubbing it gently. Taako wasn’t sure how long Angus was going to cry, but he knew he’d sit there and hold him the entire time. He knew what it felt like to be crying your eyes out with no one to make you feel better. He never wanted Angus to feel that. 

“ _ Don’t you cry, I’m right here with you,” _ he started to sing quietly, gently running his fingers through the hair on the back of Angus’ head and cradling the boy close to him. “ _ Feel the darkness running away from here. Don’t you cry, I will stay with you. Nightmares, demons, all ends now…” _

It was only when Angus’ hiccuping sobs seemed to slow down and had definitely quieted that Taako spoke again. “Are you okay, pumpkin?” he asked. “You have to talk to us. We can’t help you if you don’t talk to us.”

Angus finally lifted his head, his hands still gripped tight in Taako’s vest. “I b-broke your bowl,” he whimpered. “I broke it. I broke it and you’re going to be so mad. And I’m l-l-leaving! I don’t want to leave.”

Taako frowned, taking the hand from Angus’ head to brush tears away from his cheeks. “What the hell are you on about, kiddo?” Taako said. “It’s just a bowl. Kravitz can make more. We’re just happy you’re not hurt. Leaving? Where are you going?”

Kravitz shifted slightly, close enough that he could ran his fingers through Angus’ hair and have a hand on his back. “I don’t know,” Angus said, still sniffling. “I don’t know where to go. This is the only place I…” 

Kravitz pushed a lock of hair off of Angus’ forehead. “Angus,” he said softly, “where did you get the idea you have to leave? You’re just a kid. You don’t have to leave yet.”

“Yeah, totally,” Taako said. “Talk to us, pumpkin.”

Angus inhaled deeply, squeezing his eyes shut and speaking in a rush. “You’re having babies and you’re going to ask me to leave because you won’t need me anymore because you’ll have real kids but I don’t want to leave because I really love staying here because I love you both so much and I broke your bowl so now you’re gonna make me leave sooner and I already started packing but I don’t want to go and-and-and-” He dissolved into sniffles again, burying his face in Taako’s chest again. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Taako said. He gently pulled Angus’ head up, meeting the little boy’s watery eyes. “What do you mean we won’t need you?”

Angus sniffled again, his voice small and impossibly quiet. “You’re going to have real kids and you won’t need me anymore,” he said. 

Taako’s heart broke and sank to the bottom of his stomach at the same time. “Oh, baby,” he said, “my sweet little magic boy,” at the same time Kravitz said, “Angus, sweetheart…”

Taako pulled Angus closer, squeezing him tightly. Kravitz moved in closer, his arms going around both of them. Angus was squashed in between them but he didn’t seem upset about it at all. Taako was determined to hold that position as long as he needed to. If Angus needed hugs, he was going to get them. “Pumpkin,” he said, “just because we didn’t, like, make you doesn’t make you any less a part of this family. You’re not leaving. Ever. Until you’re an adult, I guess. Then you can. But you’re a little boy now, and you’re my son. You always will be and  _ nothing  _ can ever take that away.”

Angus lifted his head again and even though there were still tears on his cheeks, he was smiling this time. “Really?” he said quietly. “You mean it? I don’t have to leave?”

“Of course not,” Kravitz said. “As long as you want to be here, you have a place here.”

“Yeah,” Taako echoed. “Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean we love you any less, rugrat. You’re our boy.”

“Thank you,” Angus said, emotion palpable in his voice. And then a moment later, the little boy stiffened. “Oh my gods,” he said. “Sir, if you’re pregnant, you shouldn’t have fallen down here like that, you could’ve gotten hurt! Or hurt them! Are you alright, sir?” 

Kravitz cracked a smile, rising to his feet and offering a hand to Angus and Taako. 

“I’m perfectly fine, Angus,” Taako said. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long for this update! I didn’t want to cut it off before the final conversation with Angus, Taako, and Krav so it got a bit longer than I intended it to be originally. The next chapter should be shorter. It’s going to be more of a lunar interlude type thing!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A non-lunar Lunar Interlude. Taako has a wardrobe malfunction. Angus plays soccer for a very powerful audience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to be shorter, I said...

“Oh, fuck me up the ass,” Taako said, his teeth gritted. 

A voice from inside Taako’s closet said, “Didn’t we do that last night?”

Taako snorted, dropping the boot he held in his hand and flopped back into the bed. “Hardee-har,” he said. “Very funny, Kravitz. You’re hilarious. When will you leave reaping and pursue your dream of comedy?”

There were sounds of shuffling and pushing things around from inside the closet before Kravitz appeared holding a pair of sandals. “Will these work?” he asked.

Taako sat up with a grunt, glancing at the pair of sandals that Kravitz held. “Nope,” he said. “I tried those already. My feet are too fucking swollen.” Kravitz shrugged, tossing the sandals back into the depth of the closet and stepped aside. Taako muttered a few words before waving his hand and falling back again on the bed. The shoes and garments that had fallen off of their hangers started to slowly right themselves with the aid of Taako’s magic. 

“This is pointless,” Taako said. “Fuck it. I’m not wearing them. I’m not wearing shoes.  _ Fuck  _ shoes.”

Kravitz shrugged slightly. “Well, I guess there’s nothing that says you have to wear shoes except societal convention,” he said. 

“I’m just annoyed,” Taako whined. “Why are my feet swollen? Those sandals matched my outfit  _ perfectly _ .”

Kravitz crossed over to the bed, sitting down beside Taako. “Because you’re pregnant?” he suggested. “You’re literally making two whole children. It has some side effects.”

“Fair enough,” Taako said. He heaved another deep sigh as Kravitz reached over, playing with a few locks of Taako’s hair. “Well, whatever. I’ll just make it work. I’m still going to look hot as fuck.” 

“Of course you will, babe,” Kravitz said. “You always do. You look great.”

“Thanks,” Taako said. “You’re really supportive of me and I appreciate that.” 

“That’s what I’m here for,” Kravitz assured him. “Are you ready, then? I’m sure Angus is itching to head out.”

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Taako said. “Give me a second.” One hand on his stomach, Taako held his other out towards Kravitz. He was 8 months into the standard 12 month half-elf pregnancy, which they were assuming and hoping he would subscribe to. He was definitely okay with asking for help getting up at this point. Kravitz took his hand, pulling Taako up and into a kiss.

“Love you,” he said.

“Love you, too, Bones,” Taako purred. “You’re a star.” 

“You’re just saying that because I helped you try to find your sandals and you didn’t have to get up and look,” Kravitz said.

“Well… It’s a little bit that,” Taako said. “You got me there. But it’s also because of all the compliments. I fucking live for compliments.”

“I know you do,” Kravitz said, still looking mildly amused. He started to cross the bedroom for the door before he was stopped abruptly by Taako.

“Fuck me,” Taako said. “My new shit. I forgot I was gonna wear that today. I’m gonna look so good and your mom is gonna love me.” He made a sharp turn back towards his closet, throwing the door back open and rifling through his clothing.

“You really don’t need to go that all-out,” Kravitz commented, trailing back in the room to sit on the bed and watch Taako dig through the closet. “She already likes you.” 

“Babe,” Taako said, his voice slightly muffled, “it may only be a soccer game, but I am gonna look good. You’re one to talk, you hardly go anywhere in anything less than a three-piece suit.” 

Kravitz laughed, smiling softly at his boyfriend. “Yeah, but this is a soccer game.”

“A soccer game that the goddess of death will be attending,” Taako said. He wasn’t so much in awe of the fact that a goddess would be in attendance as fixated on the fact that she was Kravitz’s mom, essentially, and she was one of the only people who truly understood his style. (His style being, of course, extra as fuck.)

“She said she’s bringing her girlfriend, too, if that’s alright,” Kravitz commented. 

From deep within the closet, still trying to find the exact article of clothing he wanted, Taako shrugged. “She can bring whoever she wants, I’m not policing it.” Finally, then, he found the black cloak and matching hat he’d been searching for and it was right around then that what Kravitz had said dawned on him. He burst out of the closet, the cloak in one hand and the hat in the other. 

“Wait,  _ what, _ ” he said. “She’s dating? Dating who? Who do gods date?”

“Whoever they want, I guess,” Kravitz said. “Other gods and goddesses, attractive elves they stumble across on a bounty…” He crossed the room at the last comment to tilt Taako’s chin up and give him a quick kiss on the lips.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re adorable,” Taako said. “ _ But who is your mom dating.” _

Kravitz laughed a little at that. “Lady Istus,” he said.

“Are you shitting me,” Taako said. “My patron, goddess of fate, knits a lot, Lady Istus?”

“The very same,” Kravitz said. 

Taako laughed out loud, shaking his head. “That’s  _ perfect, _ ” he said. “I love it. I love them. Oh my gods, I can’t wait to see them again.” Taako wasn’t particularly excited to see them because they were gods like some might be - as he’d mentioned before, he could do magic, they could do magic, they were basically on the same level. He was excited to see them because the Raven Queen had a fabulous sense of style and was Kravitz’s mom, so he could pull embarrassing stories about his boyfriend out of her, and Istus because she tended to lean into his ribbing and was always good for a little bit of company or a talk. She was interesting, to say the least. And she was teaching Taako knitting. (The normal kind, not the knitting-the-fabric-of-time-together kind.)

“Well, you won’t see them if you don’t finish getting dressed,” Kravitz teased gently. “I’m sure Angus needs to get going soon.”

“Yeah, probably,” Taako said. He pulled the black wizard’s hat with a long, curled, gravity-defying end down onto his head and threw a raven’s feather cloak over his shoulders. “This would’ve looked way better with the heels,” he grumbled. 

“You still look great,” Kravitz said. 

“You’re saying that because as my boyfriend, you’re contractually obligated to, but I love it, don’t stop.” 

Kravitz laughed, leaning down slightly to press a kiss to Taako’s forehead. When he pulled away, he took a few paces towards the stairs before calling up them, “Angus! We’re ready to go!”

A moment later, Angus McDonald came bounding down the stairs. He was wearing a purple jersey with white text reading the Neverwinter Arcanists and a large number 7 on the back. He had a duffel bag swung over one shoulder and a smile on his face. “I’m ready, too, sir,” he said cheerily. Taako was still not entirely used to the feeling of being so happy just because Angus was. It was nice.

“You’re gonna kill it today, kiddo,” Taako said, ruffling his hair. 

Angus beamed again. “Thank you, sir,” he said. “I hope we do well. I’m really very excited to play this game. I think I’ll do very well.”

“Of course you will, you’re Angus McDonald,” Kravitz said. He started towards the door, followed by Angus and then Taako.

“You look very nice today, sir,” Angus said as Taako waved his hand to lock the door of their home.

“Thanks, pumpkin,” Taako said. “Krav put you up to that, didn’t he?”

Angus shook his head empathetically as they started away from the house and towards the campus of Angus’ school. “He did not, sir,” the little boy said. “I came up with it all on my own. But why are you dressed so nicely for a soccer game?” 

“We invited your grandma,” Taako said, “and she invited her girlfriend. I gotta look nice.”

“Grandma The Raven Queen?” Angus said, frowning slightly. “I didn’t think a goddess would want to play soccer. Who’s her girlfriend?”

“Your dad’s patron,” Kravitz said from a bit in front of them. He dropped back, walking now on the opposite side of Taako. “Lady Istus.”

“I’ve never met Lady Istus,” Angus said. “But she helped you and Mr. Merle and Mr. Magnus very much so I already like her.”

Taako smiled again, never ceasing to be amused by the boy detective. “Yeah, she’s a pretty rad lady,” Taako said. “She helped us save the world.”

“And I am very glad about that because I do live in the world,” Angus said. 

“You are something else, kiddo,” Taako said, ruffling Angus’ hair. “Where would we be without you?”

“Somewhere you don’t want to be, sir,” Angus said, shifting his soccer bag higher on his shoulder. 

A few more moments into the walk, Kravitz glanced over at Taako. “Are you alright?” he asked. “Your feet don’t hurt?”

“Dude,” Taako said. “I am literally 8 months pregnant. My feet always hurt.” 

Kravitz sighed softly, shaking his head. “We can take a rift,” he said. “Or you can summon Garyl.”

“But that’s so much effort,” Taako said. “Casting a whole 3rd level spell… And besides, the walk is pretty.”

“I don’t want you to hurt yourself,” Kravitz said. 

“I’m not gonna hurt myself, babe,” Taako said. “I love you, and I love that you care so much, but I got this. I’m a big boy.” 

Kravitz relaxed slightly when he was assured that Taako was fine and frankly, Taako really liked it. He liked that someone cared enough about him to ask if his feet hurt. He liked having a boyfriend and an Angus and his sister and his brother-in-law and the rest of his family… He liked having a family and he liked the walk to the soccer field, too. 

The field was behind the school, the bleachers mostly empty when they arrived but kids in purple jerseys were already kicking a ball around on one end. On the opposite end of the field, kids in sky blue jerseys were doing their own practicing. “Go on, kiddo,” Taako said, patting Angus on the back. “We’ll be watching. Play well.” 

“Yes, sir,” Angus said, smiling brightly. 

“Good luck,” Kravitz said. 

“Thank you,” Angus told him. He shifted his bag on his shoulder again before waving up at the pair of them before jogging off towards his team. They watched as he dropped his bag on the sidelines next to the belongings of the other players before he joined the kids on the field, starting to kick the ball around with them. The coach, upon seeing Angus, looked up to find Taako and Kravitz and grinned.

“Hey, Your Highness!” she called. Taako laughed when he recognized her. She was Emily, the dragonborn shop teacher. She was wearing a different outfit this time, a matching purple jersey and cuffed denim jeans that Barry himself would be jealous of.

Taako waved back at her, grinning. Kravitz, on the other hand, tilted his head and frowned slightly. “What?” he said. 

Emily, on the other end of the field, spoke again. “Mr. McDonald!”

Kravitz waved before he looked back at Taako. “Did she just call you your highness?”

“Long story,” Taako said. “Wanna go pick a spot?” 

“Yeah, sure,” Kravitz said. Together, they made their way to the edge of the bleachers. Kravitz held up his hand, helping Taako step up to the first bleacher and sit down. A few seats away was an older human man with gray-white hair and a beard. He was wearing a pair of black glasses and a blue jersey that matched the opposing team - New Fandolin Frost Giants - with his blue jeans. Taako, as he sank onto the bleacher, frowned at the man. 

“Hey,” he said. “Do I know you from somewhere?”

The man looked up and laughed brightly, pushing his glasses up with a finger. “Taako,” he said. “Yes, we have met before, but I did know Magnus better. I used to live on Tesserallia.”

Taako opened his mouth before he closed it again, still frowning. “Tesserallia,” he said. “Hold on. That was…” It just occurred to him that Tesserallia was a world they had passed through on their century of plane-hopping on the Starblaster. He was about to announce this fact to the man when another voice called out.

It was another coach in a blue jersey, a medium-height human man. “Hey!” he shouted. “McElroy! Get back over here, what the fuck are you doing?” 

The man stood up, tipping his head to Taako. “It was nice to see you again, son. Tell the other boys I said hello,” he said before he hopped off the bleachers and started towards the New Fandolin coach. 

Taako stared after him for a few moments before he blinked and shook his head, trying to clear the fogginess. 

“Who was that?” Kravitz asked as he sat down on the other side of Taako from the strange man. 

“Clint McElroy, I think,” Taako said, “but I don’t know how I know that.”

“Huh,” Kravitz said. “Weird.”

Taako shrugged, kicking his bare feet up and resting them on the bleacher in front of them. “Yeah, weird,” he said. “When are your mom and Istus getting here?” 

“Soon, I hope,” Kravitz said. “She gets weird with time, but Istus is the lady of fate. She seems to be able to keep her on schedule with a little more success.” 

Not too much later, after some more casual conversation, Kravitz tilted his head slightly and seemed to be looking off towards the side of the field, opposite of how the three of them had entered. “She just crossed into the material plane,” Kravitz said.

“Shit,” Taako said. “How can you tell?” 

Kravitz shrugged. “We’re connected,” he said. “She’s my patron.”

“Mom,” Taako interrupted.

“She’s my mom,” Kravitz amended. “She gave me part of her being to make me her charge. She doesn’t usually come to the material plane, but when she does, I can feel it.

“That’s kind of rad,” Taako said. “Being a god comes with some perks, doesn’t it?”

Kravitz laughed slightly. “I suppose so,” he said. “I think my favorite is staying alive long enough to meet you.” 

Taako placed a hand over his heart, closing his eyes and shaking his head. “Oh, shit,” he said. “Oh, shit… That’s so good. That’s so wholesome. Kravitz, that’s  _ so wholesome.”  _

Kravitz, smiling wryly, leaned forward to press a kiss to Taako’s forehead before he rose to his feet. As if on cue, two very tall dark-skinned women appeared at the edges of the soccer complex. “My lady,” Kravitz called, waving towards her. “Lady Istus.” 

Taako sat up on the bleachers, leaning over a bit to catch a glimpse of the two goddesses. The Raven Queen looked very similar to how she’d looked the last time Taako had seen her, save for maybe a foot shorter. She still had her high-necked lacey dress with feathered sleeves and her large black wings. Her raven’s skull mask was still perched over her face and she was smiling. Istus was standing beside her, exceptionally tall but an inch shorter than the Raven Queen. He remembered her being a lot taller than that last time they’d met. They both seemed to have changed their physical forms a bit for this. The goddess of fate had long, snow white hair that finally stopped just below her hips. Two gold knitting needles were tucked behind her ears. She was wearing a relatively plain long white dress that still looked absolutely stunning with three-quarter-length sleeves. There was a long, knitted scarf looped around her neck a few times. One end rested in front of her and the other end of the long scarf behind her seemed to just fade into nothing. One of her arms was looped through one of the Raven Queen’s and she was smiling brightly.

Both of the goddesses met Kravitz’s eyes and the Raven Queen waved back. Taako leaned back against the bleacher behind him while the goddesses approached. 

“Kravitz, Taako,” the Raven Queen greeted, nodding. 

“My lady,” Kravitz said. He dipped his head in the direction of Istus, as well. “Lady Istus. It’s a pleasure to see you.” 

“The pleasure is all mine,” Istus said graciously, curtseying slightly. “The Raven Queen has told me much about you.”

“And Taako’s told me all good things about you,” Kravitz said. 

Taako waved from where he was sitting. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t stand up,” he said. “I’m mad pregnant and I am currently not wearing shoes.”

Istus laughed, pulling up the hem of her dress a little to reveal her bare feet. “Neither am I,” she said. 

“Twins!” Taako said, grinning. He shifted his attention to the Raven Queen again. “What’s up? High five?” 

Instinctively, Kravitz held his hand up and the Raven Queen high-fived him in lieu of high-fiving Taako himself. “I’m digging the outfit,” Taako said. 

“And I yours,” the Raven Queen said, grinning at the elf. “I like the feathers.”

The Raven Queen held out one of her hands which Istus took, stabilizing the Lady of Fate as she stepped up onto the bleachers. Istus turned, offering the same courtesy to the Raven Queen. 

“I’ll scoot down so you can sit next to Krav and not accidentally, you know, vaporize because my boy made a good play,” Taako said. He scooted down a few places on the bench, adjusting his hat when he stopped. Kravitz shifted to be sitting next to him and the two gods sat on the other side of the reaper.

Taako shifted his attention back to the field when everyone was seated, watching as kids in both purple and blue ran drills on their side of the field. He had eyes mainly for one boy in a purple jersey so he sought out Angus and picked him out quickly. He wasn’t the shortest kid on the team but he wasn’t the tallest, either. He was, though, growing like a weed. He’d already sprung up an inch or two since Story and Song. Maybe Taako was biased, but he was sure his magic boy was the best on the team. There wasn’t a number one on his jersey for nothing.

Taako watched Angus intently for a few moments, thinking about how he never thought he’d be so invested in youth soccer, before Angus looked up from his fancy footwork. He brightened up when he spotted Taako, Kravitz, and their guests watching him and waved. Taako waved back and Istus gave him a thumbs-up. “Give ‘em hell, kid!” the Raven Queen shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth. “You’re going to be amazing!”

Taako snorted when she spoke, not even bothering to suppress his grin. “You’re pretty fucking great,” he told her.

“I like to think so,” the Raven Queen said, dipping her head slightly towards Taako. 

“So do I,” Istus said with a teasing tone to her voice, nudging the Raven Queen with her elbow. 

The rest of the game’s spectators trailed in from both sides of the field, filling up the bleachers with supporters from both teams. Taako, Kravitz, and the two goddesses were joined by Magnus and one large dog shortly before the game began. Magnus sat beside Taako and the dog very politely sat down in between Magnus’ feet. 

“Oh, hello,” Taako said, narrowing his eyes at the animal. “Who exactly is this?”

Magnus grinned, clapping his hands together. “This is one of the dogs I’m training,” he said. “I love him. His name’s Johann.”

Taako leaned over slightly, squinting at the dog’s face. The dog didn’t seem to be off-put at all by Taako, simply staring right back at him with big brown eyes. “Johann, huh?” he said. “I promise I didn’t forget.” 

Johann, as if on cue,  _ boof _ ed once and leaned forward to lick Taao’s face. Taako leaned back, scrunching his nose up as Magnus and Kravitz laughed. 

“Gross,” Taako said, wiping his face with his sleeve.

“It means he likes you,” Magnus said cheerily, starting to stroke the dog’s head as Johann wagged his tail. 

“Yeah, well, this weirdo likes me, too, and he doesn’t lick me to show it,” Taako said, elbowing Kravitz on the other side of him. He could sense that Kravitz had opened his mouth so he sharply elbowed him again. “ _ No, _ ” Taako said. “Don’t you fucking dare.”

Kravitz closed his mouth, glancing beside him. Luckily, the Raven Queen and Istus were engaged in an animated discussion so they hadn’t heard the exchange. “Sorry,” he said. “I forgot.”

Taako smiled, relaxing and leaning into Kravitz’s shoulder. “I love you, even if you are weird,” he told him. 

“Good,” Kravitz said. “I love you, too.”

They sat together comfortably, talking with Magnus, the Raven Queen, and Istus until the game finally started. 

For a kids’ soccer game, it was fairly fast-paced. Taako knew, completely unbiased, that Angus was good. He was really good. But this other team was something else, a lot better than most of the teams Taako had watched the Neverwinter Arcanists play against. The score was tight and whenever they fell behind, Angus was quick to score enough points to get them back on top. And Taako was always the loudest person cheering in the bleachers. “That’s my boy!” Taako shouted. “He just  _ fucking _ did that! Kicked your ass! Hell yeah!” 

Kravitz shook his head slightly, amusedly smiling. “I don’t know if you should be yelling at children.” 

Taako shrugged, wincing slightly as he eased himself back down onto the bleachers. “It’s sports,” Taako said. “You’re supposed to be excited and, you know, interact with the players.” 

“Usually the players aren’t children,” Kravitz said, squeezing Taako’s shoulder as he sat down next to him. 

“I am passionately involved in my son’s soccer career,” Taako said firmly. “I’m just supporting him. Loudly.”

At the very end of the game, less than a mere minute left, the score was tied. Taako leaned forward nervously, his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped in front of his mouth. “Fuck,” he said quietly. “Come on, come on…” The ball was getting passed back and forth between the kids and between teams. A girl in a blue jersey was kicking the ball towards a goal guarded by a half-orc boy Taako remembered was called Kevin. The kid braced himself, crouched low to the ground and ready to dive to block the ball, but before he even got a chance, Angus McDonald swooped in front of the girl, taking the ball right from in front of her feet and speeding in the other direction.

“Fuck yeah!” Taako said, leaping to his feet. He was so invested in the fate of the game that he wasn’t even registering the pain in his feet. “Go Angus!” 

He focused on his son, watching as he easily snaked around the opposite team’s players and deftly knocked the ball over their goalie’s head and into the net. 

“Holy shit!” Taako said. “Holy fucking shit! Kravitz, did you see that?!” He spun around, grabbing Kravitz’s arm and pulling on it gently as the referee blew a whistle. “He did that! Angus fucking did that!!” 

Kravitz nodded, laughing. “I know,” he said. “I know he did. He did it!”

When Taako looked back at the field, Angus was being hoisted into the air by Kevin and surrounded by his cheering teammates. Beaming brighter than what seemed physically possible, Angus turned and found Taako and Kravitz with his eyes. “Dad!” he shouted, waving his arms. “Dad, did you see that?!”

_ Dad,  _ Taako thought, and honestly, he couldn’t remember being happier.


End file.
